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The fight against the disease was a major feature of the agenda at the BCVA’s annual gathering in Telford
Allister Webb
Job Title
Government targets could be missed by decades if efforts to eradicate bTB in England continue in their present form, a senior farm vet has warned.
BCVA Congress delegates were urged to “park the politics” as the fight against the disease topped the agenda at the Telford event.
Former association president Keith Cutler cast doubt over Defra’s stated aim of beating the disease by 2038, telling delegates: “If we keep going as we are, I’m not sure we’ll even get rid of it by 2083.”
In a presentation entitled “A new vision for bovine TB”, Mr Cutler channelled comments often attributed to Albert Einstein as he addressed the current focus of work on the disease.
He asked: “What are we doing, guys? More and more skin testing. We may be doing it a bit more frequently. We may be interpreting the results a little bit differently.
“But is that achieving anything? We continue to do what we’ve always done.
“We’ll keep getting what we’ve always had and we’ve always had TB.”
He also questioned the profession’s response to claims made in a BBC documentary featuring the Queen guitarist Sir Brian May two years ago, which suggested improved farm hygiene could help to reduce the spread of the disease.
The BCVA was among several prominent organisations which criticised the programme at the time, accusing its producers of overlooking evidence to support the role of culling in reducing disease levels.
But Mr Cutler told the congress: “Perhaps he [Sir Brian] had a point. He’s a clever guy. Did we give him enough of a fair hearing?”
But in an earlier session, TB Advisory Service technical director Sarah Tomlinson stressed the scheme was already discussing the issue of cattle-to-cattle spread with farmers, alongside other potential sources.
She said: “We’re not trying to give them all the solutions. We’re just trying to identify where the risks are and, actually, farmers are really good at coming up with their solutions that will work for their own businesses.
“We talk about the role of badgers predominantly, but deer are becoming more prevalent in our conversations. And it is about reminding farmers that it’s not just badgers that give cattle TB, it can work the other way round.”
The reference to deer is particularly significant following the association’s call for surveillance pilots to examine an emerging disease reservoir among wild deer.
But Mrs Tomlinson also urged delegates to “control the controllable” and encourage farmers to take actions.
She said: “It’s often not the knowledge that is the barrier. It’s actually getting people to do stuff. If they’re going to do the low-hanging fruit, let’s not put them off.”
The discussions followed the recent publication of a new BCVA policy paper on bTB, whose recommendations included the swift deployment of a cattle vaccine and the “regular review” of wildlife controls, despite Government plans to phase out the controversial badger culling programme in England.