Full backing from vets for NI BVD scheme
Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill made the announcement following a consultation in which the BVA and BVA Northern Ireland Branch called for BVD testing to become compulsory, for a ban on breeding from any known infected animals (known as persistently infected, or PI, animals), and for BVD to become a notifiable disease. The announcement comes just […]
Cuts to farm animal health surveillance could risk new diseases going undetected and jeopardise public health, warns The Royal College of Pathologists
These diseases may be transmitted to humans so the health risks are shared by the public and this could hit consumer confidence in a livestock industry worth over £10 billion. Defra’s plans are not based on sound evidence and lack detail. Defra has failed to explain to the College how outsourcing tests to services outside […]
Badger cull called off – for now
Natural England, which is managing the cull, is pulling the plug on shooting as of tomorrow (Saturday) lunchtime. A revised target of killing 58% of badgers in the zone had been set following the initial cull period, but this has also been missed by the gunmen. Dominic Dyer, Policy Advisor for Care for the Wild, […]
Claims that ‘high number of badgers are sick’ undermined by Welsh research
Consistent claims by the UK government that badgers are very sick with TB and at a high risk of spreading disease to other badgers and cattle have been shot to pieces by statistics from the Welsh Government Badger Vaccination Project. Environment Minister Owen Paterson has justified the current badger cull many times by claiming or […]
Treat any lame sheep before winter housing
Wet and muddy underfoot conditions are exacerbating sheep foot problems and flockmasters are being urged to implement the five-point disease reduction plan and certainly treat any lame sheep well before winter housing. “High rainfall in many areas and the relatively mild early autumn temperatures are combining to create the perfect environment for lameness problems to […]
Strong support for next steps in BVD eradication plan for Scotland
The next phase of the programme will be introduced in January 2014 and will include restricting the movement of animals infected with BVD (persistently infected animals, known as PIs), temporary movement restrictions on herds that have not been tested, and compulsory declaration of herd status before movement. Guidance is being issued to all farmers and […]
Beware Pneumonia
Vets from Scotland’s Rural College are reminding farmers to beware of pneumonia in young stock. Respiratory disease in cattle affects animal welfare and leads to significant financial loss through reduced productivity, costly treatment and possible deaths. Experience shows the greatest risk is in the months of December and January, directly after cattle are housed. Farmers […]
Cattle-to-cattle outbreak in Durham gets to heart of bTB problem
Reported in the Northern Echo, farmers are quoted as being “unhappy that cattle from infected with TB were brought here from a high-risk area”. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, which works with Defra, said: “It is believed that the infection was inadvertently carried in cattle bought from a high risk area of the […]
Roger Williams MP comments on new science relating to new variant CJD
During the discussion on the work the group will undertake during the next year Roger Williams MP suggested a topic that the NFU (National Farmers Union) in Brecon and Radnorshire had raised with him. At the moment the carcasses of sheep over one year old have to be split down the spine in order to […]
