THE Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) has criticised Defra’s TB eradication strategy in England, claiming it falls short in some areas and contains damaging measures in others.

Stephen Wyrill, TFA national chairman, said that while in general they supported the strategy, there were some areas where it could be improved.

“Ultimately, a cattle vaccine must be the solution, but until we get there, other cattle measures and wildlife culling, as set out in the strategy, will be necessary,” he said.

Mr Wyrill, who farms near Catterick, said the TFA had long supported annual TB testing, which had helped greatly in controlling TB in Wales.

“Sadly, we (in England) have seen cases of dispersal of herds from four-yeartesting parishes causing multiple disease outbreaks.

“The sooner we can get to annual testing the better.

“While we agree with the need for appropriate testing of and movement restrictions on TB-affected cattle, it is ludicrous that we do not apply standardised procedures for other species of livestock such as deer.

“TB can affect a wide range of other species and although these may be less infectious than bovines and badgers, they are still capable of spreading disease and need to be controlled.”

Mr Wyrill said that when there is a new TB outbreak on a farm, Defra requires farms within a 3km radius of that holding to be tested within 28 days.

“Given how quickly disease can spread, a period of 28 days before a test needs to be carried out leaves too wide a window for movements of potentially infected cattle from neighbouring holdings,” he said.

“These tests should be carried out as soon as possible after identifying the original breakdown to avoid the risk of disease transfer.”

Finally, he said the TFA continued to be concerned about Defra’s decision to ban partial derestriction of TB breakdown holdings from the end of this month.

Currently, cattle keepers, in consultation with local Animal Health officials, can obtain a partial derestriction of isolated parts of their holdings for animals which test negatively for TB.

“This has meant the difference between survival and bankruptcy for many farmers and Defra’s decision to remove this flexibility without any disease risk justification is causing great anxiety, stress and concern among TFA members”, said Mr Wyrill.