Farmers asked to share TB incidence to improve disease control

The South East and South West Wales Regional TB Eradication Delivery Boards have joined in the fight against bovine TB in Wales by launching a pilot scheme to encourage farmers to share details of new TB incidence on their premises with their neighbours.

From 22 April 2013, cattle keepers in South Wales whose herds are deemed Officially TB Free Withdrawn (OTFW) by the AHVLA will be asked to sign a voluntary consent form soon after the disease is identified.

Signing the form will allow AHVLA to disclose their name and address, and in some cases business name, to herd owners of contiguous premises.

A contiguous premises is one that is adjacent to, or in close proximity of another premises, and considered to have an epidemiological link.

Farmers with premises contiguous to a cattle herd with an OTFW status will then be able to take steps to prevent disease transmission between herds.

For example, this may include moving cattle from any fields that are on the boundary or putting in place biosecurity measures to prevent cattle contact between premises.

The pilot will run initially for six months. If successful, consideration will be given to rolling it out across Wales.