Bovine TB policy puts an end to conservation grazing

It was refreshing to hear Bob Kilmister speak at a packed Pembrokeshire Against the Cull (PAC) meeting in Newport, Pembrokeshire on 8th April 2011 as he included some sound, common sense facts and, being a land owner himself who had previously kept cattle, he had obviously taken a good deal of interest in the subject of bovine TB.

Of great interest to us was the fact that he had, up until three years ago, kept a small herd of cattle on his land. He has a small holding in the Fishguard area and his land is in Tir Gofal, which was the Welsh Assembly Government's flagship agri-environment scheme but is now being replaced by the unpopular Glastir scheme. He kept the cattle, Welsh Blacks, as conservation grazers. However, following the zero tolerance attitude of WAG and the increased bTB testing regime he had to get rid of his animals. The vet was no longer prepared to test them without proper handling equipment which was not financially viable for just six animals. He was now concerned regarding the implications for his land and his Tir Gofal agreement.

Bob (Liberal Democrat) is standing for election to the Welsh Assembly representing the Preseli, Pembrokeshire area. He is clearly against the badger cull and on the Pembrokeshire Against the Cull website he is is quoted as saying; "Bovine TB is a real problem. There is a real risk that our communities will be split by the proposed cull in Pembrokeshire. The operation could last for five years with all the policing and social implications and there is no guarantee that it would succeed. This is my personal view."

He believed that the problem was not badgers but the current test used. He stressed that as it only indicated that an animal had been exposed to the bacteria that caused the disease it was likely that up to 70% of cattle were killed, at taxpayers' expense, needlessly. He equated the situation to the BCG testing and vaccination programme that used to be available to all teenagers and commented that those testing positive to the test were not culled.

As a current County Councillor he had attended a presentation where the WAG's Chief Vet, Christianne Glossop had spoken about the Bovine TB Eradication Programme and why badgers should be culled. She was asked some challenging questions and he found that some of her replies were not very convincing. He therefore came away and was not convinced that badger culling was the answer. He was also very concerned regarding the movement of slurry from farm to farm. Glossop had accepted that slurry could be a big problem regarding spread of the disease but WAG had not taken this issue on board at all in their proposals. Slurry can harbour the bacteria that causes bTB and when spread on the land any bacteria can remain viable for over six months. He found this disturbing bearing in mind that lorry loads of slurry was regularly moved around the country and spread on farms.

8/4/11