The plan builds on what is already in place to set a course towards a TB-Free Wales by 2041.
NFU Cymru believes farmers in Wales will be left frustrated by Welsh Government’s new plan for tackling bovine TB in Wales. The plan does not offer any progress towards a comprehensive strategy that will effectively tackle the disease across all its vectors.
NFU Cymru's concerns
NFU Cymru Deputy President Abi Reader said: “The announcement of this new five-year delivery plan is light on detail and will do little to inspire confidence in Welsh farmers.
"While the plan points at positive progress and downward trends in some areas, this will be of little consolation to those farmers who have had cattle culled after seeing their herds ravaged by this disease. Despite the industry implementing stringent protocols to keep the disease out, we still have hundreds of farm businesses under bTB restrictions and thousands more living with the fear of what their next on-farm TB test will bring.
“Given the rising levels of disease in some of the lower risk areas of Wales, it is right that this plan has a focus on preventing the further spread of the disease into these areas. While we still need time to assess the full details contained within the plan, on first reading it does not appear that its contents offer much hope for farmers in Wales’ High TB Areas, nor that efforts are being prioritised to tackle the disease across all sources of infection.
Collaborative working
“We welcome the Minister’s reference to working in partnership with the industry and Welsh Government’s acknowledgement that communication with the industry needs to be improved. Actions speak louder than words, however, and today’s proposals are likely to leave farmers unconvinced that they will be central to future decision making.
“We are pleased that some positive progress has been made on a number of the proposals put forward by the NFU Cymru TB Focus Group. If there is any realistic hope of achieving the target for Wales to be TB-free by 2041, we believe more of these recommendations need to be adopted.
“We are mindful that a new Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales has only recently been appointed before the publication of this new five-year plan. We hope to work closely alongside the new Chief Veterinary Officer to help improve the bovine TB picture for Welsh agriculture and, in particular, for those farming families whose lives are blighted by this disease.”
