MPs vote 219 to 1 against the badger cull
MPs voted overwhelmingly to halt the controversial badger culls in England yesterday. The motion was proposed by the Conservative MP Anne Main and stated that the pilot culls had “decisively failed”. Farming minister George Eustice refused to respond to a challenge to hold a full debate and vote in government time, choosing, rather, to defend the culls, […]
Carbapenems not used in livestock
The recently announced increase in carbapenem resistance in humans led to an Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics inspired article in The Independent on 12 March 2014 calling for a ban on carbapenem use in agriculture. The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) would like to point out that: there are no carbapenem antibiotic […]
Scientists edging nearer to a rapid test for bovine tuberculosis
Scientists are developing a portable testing device which would be capable of detecting bovine tuberculosis in cattle in just a matter of minutes. The major study, involving experts at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), would mean that appropriate measures could be taken more quickly to limit the spread of the infectious disease – which is one […]
90 cattle killed each day due to bovine TB
32,620 cattle were slaughtered in Great Britain due to bovine TB in 2013, new figures released today reveal. This equates to almost 90 cattle being killed each day as a result of the disease. The figures published today also show that the incidence rate – i.e. the proportion of previously TB-free cattle herds found to […]
Pig industry moves to red alert over PEDv transatlantic killer
The British pig industry is on red alert, in a bid to prevent an outstandingly virulent pig disease from entering the country. Until more is known about transmission routes of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus, the industry is focusing in particular on a specialist feed ingredient for young pigs—spray-dried porcine plasma. Positive polymerase chain reaction tests […]
RPA releases February 2014 milk production figures
The United Kingdom wholesale milk deliveries totalled 1090.1 million litres in February, figures published by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) show. At the same time last year this figure was 978.1 million litres. The cumulative total for the year is now 12,413.7 million litres. At the same point in 2013 this figure was 11,862.4 million […]
BBC accepts it was wrong to state that badger culling in Republic Ireland reduced TB in cattle
In a ground-breaking decision the BBC today accepted it was wrong to state that badger culling in the Republic of Ireland had reduced incidences of TB in cattle. The statement was following a complaint from a member of the public concerning an article published on the BBC Website on the 31st May 2013 “How did […]
Dairy UK calls for greater cross-party support for cheese and British dairy
Speaking at the All Party Parliamentary Cheese Group Reception in London on Wednesday, Dairy UK’s Chief Executive Judith Bryans said that information about dairy products is often misleading and ill-informed and urged MPs to support the cheese and dairy industry in a consistent way. Dr Bryans said “The dairy industry takes the nutritional integrity, safety […]
Badger Culls ‘failed and were inhumane’ – independent report
An independent report into the badger cull in Gloucestershire and Somerset has concluded ‘that they were not effective’, according to the BBC. The report showed that the cull failed to kill anywhere near the number that was deemed to be required to have an impact on bovine TB. It also said that potentially up to […]
