12,000 cattle slaughtered in first four months of 2013 due to bovine TB
12,061 cattle were compulsorily slaughtered in Great Britain during January to April 2013 due to bovine TB, new figures published by Defra reveal.
12,061 cattle were compulsorily slaughtered in Great Britain during January to April 2013 due to bovine TB, new figures published by Defra reveal. In England alone, 9,503 cattle were slaughtered due to the disease.
Farming minister David Heath said:
“Once again these figures show the very real need to stop TB from its relentless march across the countryside. Every month thousands of animals infected with TB are sent to the slaughterhouse at huge cost to the farming industry and the taxpayer.
“That’s why we have launched our TB eradication strategy that sets out our plan to make England TB Free within 25 years. Bovine TB is the most pressing animal health problem in the UK threatening cattle farmers’ livelihoods and our farming industry as well as the health of wildlife and livestock and we must do all we can to get on top of it.”
The figures, which show the results of cattle testing carried out up to the end of April this year, showed that 5,978 herds in Great Britain were under TB restrictions at the end of the month, including 423 new incidents.
2,740 cattle were slaughtered in Great Britain in April 2013 due to bovine TB.
Other figures from the stats show:
- The provisional April 2013 TB incidence rate is 4.1%, compared to 3.8% in April 2012. (% of herds tested that are taken off the list of official TB free herds)
- The number of new herds affected by bovine TB during the period 1 January to 30 April 2013 was 1,838.
- The number of herds tested for bovine TB during the period 1 January to 30 April 2013 was 35,066
Defra recently set out plans to rid England of the disease within 25 years, using every tool at our disposal t combat bovine TB.
The strategy, which Defra is currently seeking comments on during a 12 week consultation period, sets out action in areas such as disease surveillance, pre- and post-movement cattle testing, removal of cattle exposed to bTB, tracing the potential source of infection and wildlife controls including culling and vaccination trials.
It also focuses on the development of new techniques such as badger and cattle vaccines and new diagnostic tests that could one day offer new ways of tackling the disease.
The consultation
Background
The latest statistics on bovine TB can be found on the gov.uk website here
- County specific statistics are available within the regional datasets. Each county is represented by a separate tab along the bottom of the spreadsheet
- More information about the TB Eradication Strategy for England, including a video of Environment Secretary owen Paterson outlining the key elements, can be found here
- The average cost of a TB herd breakdown is around £34,000: £22,000 of which falls to the taxpayer, £12,000 falls to farmers and last year a total of 28,000 cattle were slaughtered in England alone
