Defra has introduced new rules on cattle movements, which will come into force next year as part of its bovine TB eradication strategy.

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The new biosecurity measures include tighter movement restrictions and the division of England into two separate testing frequency zones. Testing intervals will be decided on a county-by-county basis rather than being determined by parish.

Annual testing will be extended throughout much of the South and Midlands, as these areas are at significant risk from the geographical spread of bTB. Holdings elsewhere in the country will be tested every four years, though herds at greater risk will be tested more frequently.

 The changes announced this week mark another stage in Defra’s bovine TB eradication policy, the most prominent aspect of which is the acutely controversial badger culls set to begin as early as this weekend in areas of Southern England. Cull opponents maintain that better biosecurity measures will play a much greater role in tackling the disease than culling badgers, though farming bodies have offered muted objection to the tighter measures this week.

Speaking on Friday (19th October), NFU chief livestock adviser Peter Garbutt said, “While we fully agree with the need to get on top of and eventually eradicate this disease, we recognise that some of these changes are bound to cause consternation to those farming businesses directly affected by them.”

However, Garbutt did admit that “These changes will simplify the complex patchwork of the parish system, keep our testing regime one step ahead of the disease and ensure that investigation of new TB breakdowns is risk based. There is an acceptance from farmers outside the high risk areas that further measures to reduce the spread of the disease are needed and we know that the Commission is keen to accelerate the eradication programme.”

Nevertheless, the new measures come on the back of a European Commission-backed investigation into the UK’s efforts to control Bovine TB, which exposed failures and discrepancies in biosecurity measures and raised concerns that ear tag swapping and flouting of control measures is widespread, meaning many farmers could be keeping more productive TB reactor cattle in herds and sending healthy animals for slaughter.

The Commission investigators expressed concern that exemptions, incomplete herd testing and a raft of other occurrences may be weakening attempts to control bovine TB in the UK, and said targets are frequently missed for removing TB reactor cattle with sufficient rapidity and repeating missed tests. Defra’s response to their findings was that delays to badger culling, “which is a significant element of the approved eradication programme, remain the major obstacle to progress.”

However, since that time the department has assured its cattle control measures have been strengthened, as is evidenced in the new measures introduced this week, and said the government accepts the Commission’s findings.

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