TB Health Check Wales

TB Health Check Wales was a zero tolerance policy aimed at TB testing all cattle in Wales. It was introduced on October 2008 and ran to the end of December 2009. It was a test of all cattle herds in Wales over a 15 month period 'to provide a more accurate picture of the disease'. According to Gwlad, Bovine TB Special Edition Summer 2010 the campaign is costing some £27.7 million ( with funding from EU). With the increased testing an increasing number of positive and inconclusive animals were identified and slaughtered since the programme began. The costs continued to escalate, as did the hardship to cattle owners suffering continuous testing and herd breakdowns.

Interestingly, the minutes of a meeting held on 20th February 2008 between the Minister for Rural Affairs and Professor John Bourne, Department for Rural Affairs, Cardiff reveal that scientists advised the Minister that: '... the Welsh Assembly Government should learn to live with the disease in endemic areas in the foreseeable future, while applying proportionate measures to reduce cattle disease incidence, which would allow continued farming activity'. With the ongoing costs of the test and slaughter policy, monitoring and all other associated costs, the cost of the existing programme cannot be sustainable, particularly at a time when there is financial crisis and major cuts in other areas. As it is the results of the skin test that are used to determine whether or not bTB is endemic in an area, is the existing test reliable enough and where is the scientific evidence and trials that back up its efficacy? How up to date are any trials? Have other issues been taken into account, such as the variance in individual animals regarding immunity and disease tolerance, climate change and other factors that can compromise the immune system?


Whilst the ministers and bureaucrats are proclaiming the success of Health Check Wales they have totally ignored the hardships caused to many farmers as a consequence of the policy. In order to achieve their targets and deadlines they have put sustained and continued pressure on cattle owners, regardless of other circumstances. They have had little regard to the real health, safety, welfare or cost implications for cattle owners or their animals, despite such risks being clearly portrayed in WAG's DVD 'Eradicating Bovine TB', published in 2010. And what about the risks associated with re-stocking after a herd breakdown? With the current emphasis on removing disease sources as quickly as possible it seems surprising that immediate restocking is allowed, particularly as it is known that the bacteria that causes TB can remain active for many months.

According to the Welsh Assembly, TB Health Check Wales suggested that the incidence of disease varied quite significantly across Wales and within regions. For example, the incidence of TB in North West Wales is low, whereas some areas of South West Wales have the highest incidence of TB in Europe. HOWEVER, it should be recognised that even in areas of high TB incidence the majority of herds are not infected.

Since January 2010 all cattle herds in Wales have been on annual testing and are likley to remain so for the foreseeable future. The increased testing means that the number of undisclosed TB breakdowns is likely to be relatively small.

In the WAG's regular magazine 'Gwlad' (March 2010 issue) there was an article about the problems farmers face when re-stocking after bTB. In addition to the risk to the new cattle of picking up TB from the existing stock, it would seem that animals bought in can be more susceptible to other diseases too and this can lower fertility and production - causing yet more problems for farmers. The case they referred to was a dairy farm which had firstly re-stocked quickly with local animals that some time later tested positive (despite being clear at the pre-movement tests) and had to be destroyed so they went to 'clean' areas and then had problems with BVD and IBR, which they had never had before. They had to vaccinate - which was expensive and fertility dropped off drastically.

WAG's Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2010 came into force on 25/5/10. The aim is to strengthen even further the measures WAG can take to achieve its aim of eradicating bovine TB in Wales. It now has the power to slaughter untested animals, ie animals that are difficult to handle, and to treat them as if they have TB (thereby further distorting the figures!). It also gives it the power to reduce compensation payments to reflect any poor practice and non-compliance with the bTB testing requirements. The order also introduces Veterinary Improvement Notices which will be used where continuing bad practice or lack of action by a cattle keeper may be having an impact on the level or duration of TB infection on a holding. Are we going to see many more farmers being forced out of business? It would seem to be the smaller farms that are disappearing; farms that may well be vital for the future (providing good, locally produced food and habitat diversity options), as climate change becomes a reality and we cannot be so reliant on food from abroad.


It is estimated that 60% of the human population live in countries where cattle undergo no control or only limited control for bovine TB. (Ref. 1), so is it realistic to expect we can ever really eradicate (eliminate) bTB as a disease in UK cattle (or other animals)? Even in areas classed as 'TB free', where it is supposedly 'eradicated', the disease crops up from time to time. The following is an extract from the 2nd edition (1906) 'Mycobacteriul bovis Infection in Humans and Animals', by CO Thoen, James H Styeele and MJ Gilsdorf; 'In view of the large number of susceptible species, the differences in pathogenesis and the variety of possible transmission mechanisms, combined with the lack of effective vaccination and moderately accurate diagnostic methods, bovine TB can be difficult to control', let alone eradicate'!

Ref. 1 'Zoonotic tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis in developing countries' by O.Coivi et al, 1998.