TB Outbreak in Scotland

In the summer of 2010 around twenty 20 farms in the Keith area of Moray were caught up in a bovine TB scare, leading to more than 100 animals being slaughtered. However, one farmer who was given the all-clear, hit out at the authorities for not acting quicker - and for causing extra cost, stress and anxiety. Alison Watt's Birkenburn was one of the farms placed under restrictions following a confirmed bovine tuberculosis (bTB) case on a local farm which involved an animal, believed to be originally from Ireland, which was tested and culled almost a year ago - and bTB was confirmed after its death. Ms Watt said it was only in April this year that the Scottish Government and the Animal Health agency contacted the neighbouring farms to the source of the outbreak, to test their herds and place severe restrictions on trading and cattle movement. With 116 pedigrees and commercials, the awarding-winning British Blondes breeder said her hands were tied for 60 days while repeated testing was carried out. "We couldn't sell any of our stock through market and couldn't sell privately from farm to farm. We could only sell under licence direct to slaughter," Ms Watt said. "There was a lot of stress and anxiety, after a hard winter when we had sheds caving in under heavy snowfalls. Our financial position was obviously affected by the restrictions on trading, and we incurred extra costs through needing additional labour for the testing, which also had an effect on some animals' health, and there were costs from extra feed and bedding. "I had to have two of my pure breeds and four commercial cattle put down, and the tests afterwards showed negative for bTB. What a waste. "I take great pride in our pedigree stock and it was very upsetting for me to see them go like that." Ms Watt is at a loss to understand why it took the authorities so long to respond and to contact neighbouring farms. "Why did they wait all that time? It could have been catastrophic for us, not knowing that there had been a bTB alert. If they had acted earlier, the testing could have been done during the winter and not at calving time, and when we have other important work to do. "It has left me totally dismayed by the powers-that-be. As someone said, if we can put a man on the moon why can't we get our act together for testing cattle. We should not be killing cattle that don't have to be killed." Ms Watt was approached by neighbours to organise a meeting. "We all felt aggrieved and stressed," she added. The Scottish Government announced shortly after a change to bTB protocols, which will mean that testing of neighbouring farms around confirmed TB outbreaks will be limited to those 'where nose-to-nose contact is possible', and that follow-up tests at six and 12 months will no longer be required. The breakdown of follow-up testing will be changed to allow it to be done at the most convenient time of year. Voluntary slaughter of inconclusive reactors and where there is no evidence of TB at post-mortem or culture, will now trigger only a routine test after a year unless they can be related to an existing outbreak. There is also to be a shift in responsibility for managing the risk of TB incursion from cattle imported from non-TB-free member states to traders, rather than taxpayers or the wider cattle industry. The changes, agreed by Scotish Rural Affairs Minister Richard Lochead, the Moray MSP, were welcomed by Ms Watt. "But why so late," she said. "The authorities were obviously working on these while we have been going through all this trouble," she said. "They won't admit the failings, though." A regular exhibitor at North-east agricultural shows, she wasn't able to join this summer's circuit until the beginning of August, but has managed to chalk up championship wins for her British Blondes breed at Turriff, Black Isle and this week at Keith. Information from a report 13 August 2010 by Mike Collins of the Northern Scot http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/10077/Farmer_s_anger_at_slow_reaction_to_TB_scare.html