A record number of cattle were culled across Wales last year due to bovine TB, with farm leaders calling for a change in the government's strategy.
Over 13,000 cattle were slaughtered in 2024 due to bovine TB, constituting a 27% increase compared to 2023.
The figures, released today (20 March) by as part of Defra's latest quarterly statistics, have been called 'sobering' by NFU Cymru.
The 2024 figures represent the largest ever number of cattle culled because of bovine TB over a 12-month period.
The wider disease picture for last year shows that overall herd incidence, which measures the rate at which new bTB incidents are being detected in an area, remained the same.
Herd prevalence, defined as the percentage of all registered herds which were not Officially TB-Free (OTF) during the time, rose by 0.1%.
NFU Cymru has vowed to keep lobbying Welsh government for ‘meaningful change’ and a comprehensive strategy that tackles bovine TB across all its vectors.
The union's president Aled Jones said: “These latest statistics paint a sobering picture of the total anguish being experienced by farming families affected by the hugely damaging impacts of this disease.
“The scars left behind by bovine TB are numerous and can be seen running deep across the Welsh cattle industry.
"We cannot continue to slaughter this many cattle each year because of this disease and if the next generation are to have any hope of farming without the threat of bTB, then something needs to change."
Bovine TB continues to be a serious challenge to the farming industry due to its severe economic and social impacts.
Defra and Welsh government commissioned research in 2020 on the financial impact of TB on beef and dairy farmers.
This showed the cost of a TB breakdown directly borne by cattle farms varies significantly, with a median value of around £6,600 across all farms in the survey.
Across England and Wales, median costs for herds of more than 300 cattle were around £18,600, whilst those for herds up to 50 cattle were around £1,700.
Median costs for chronic breakdowns over 273 days were around £16,000, the report showed.
The statistics are likely to further emphasise how important the work of the newly-formed Welsh government TB Programme Board and Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is for farmers.
Mr Jones said that NFU Cymru would continue to use its seat on the programme board to "push for meaningful change at pace".
“We appreciate the need for patience in allowing these structures time to do their job, but we cannot lose sight of the farm businesses across Wales that continue to suffer because of this disease.
"This is why we continue to call for a comprehensive TB eradication strategy that deals with this disease wherever it exists," he said.
