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Case Studies and Articles Latest |
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30 Jul 2019, 3:10 PM
A dairy farmer has been fined for chaotic record keeping that may have contributed to the spread of bovine tuberculosis on his premises. read more...
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13 Aug 2014, 1:18 PM
A young lad is forced to slaughter his pet cow because of the current bovine TB policy. read more...
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29 Mar 2014, 1:56 PM
A 33 year old farmer and father of two in Shrophsire was killed by a bull as he tested cattle for bTB. He was conducting routine bTB testing on cows at Ashwood Farm in Whitchurch on 3 December 2013 when he was fatally injured by a bull read more...
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13 Dec 2013, 6:47 PM
There is such a focus on badgers that the fact that bovine TB is a cattle based problem has been set on one side. History has shown us that the incidence of TB in cattle can be brought down to a very low level by cattle based measures alone. Add to this the vaccination of badgers in hot spot areas and even their implication can be dealt with. read more...
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9 Dec 2013, 6:08 PM
Looking at some of the anti cull websites and having kept a close eye on media reports during the trial culls that have recently finished in Gloucestershire and Somerset, it would seem that if the culling is rolled out into other areas the level of opposition is not going to get less and could even worsen, meaning that policing costs alone (paid for from public funds) are going to be exorbitant. read more...
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8 Nov 2013, 6:38 PM
This article is a summary of the significant legal proceedings relating to incidents re cattle and bovine TB. read more...
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7 Nov 2013, 8:20 PM
In this well researched article by Mike Rendle he poses this question: 'Are badger infections following, not leading, bovine TB infections in cattle? ' and discovers some very interesting facts about cattle, badgers and bovine TB. read more...
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30 Oct 2013, 9:18 AM
Bovine TB - the views of a farmer based on field-based observations over many years. Peter Aspin was a herdsman, then a dairy farmer. He is now a beef farmer and also has a contract rearing dairy heifers for a local farmer. He was conventional and is now organic. He also run the Shropshire Agroforestry Project. All on 40 acres. To understand bovine TB one must first understand how significantly livestock husbandry practices have changed in recent years. I was on a dairy farm a couple of years ago - a closed herd (one that reared all its own replacement youngstock) - which had had its first bTB breakdown. Two veterinarians had arrived to do the follow-up sixty day retest. Talking to them I asked what they thought was the source of the problem. Their immediate response was that the adjacent dairy farm had purchased imported cattle the previous year, this herd had subsequently developed bTB and passed the infection either directly or via a vector to the neighbouring herd. Whether the imported cattle were themselves carriers of bTB or whether they had no immunity, I do not know and I assumed the vets did not know but the issue of cattle importation is a major concern for both farmers and vets. Ever increasing numbers of dairy cattle are being imported simply because they are cheaper if large enough numbers are purchased. I know of a herd of over two thousand dairy cows where not a single replacement animal is home-reared, every single one arrives on a lorry from mainland Europe. read more...
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15 Sep 2013, 1:54 PM
Dairy farm worker, Steve Jones, is not happy about the future of the dairy industry, or the current policy to cull badgers. The industry has many problems. Bovine tuberculosis is just one.'The cattle industry is long overdue for reform', he says. Here he sets out his comments. read more...
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Bovine TB blamed for neglect of cattle and other animals |
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23 Sep 2011, 6:34 PM
On 22 September 2011 Mold Magistrates Court dealt with a case brothers, Gareth and Kenneth Jones, of Wern Fawr Farm, Caerwys. The two farmers (brothers) involved had apparently bought too many cows and could not afford to feed them and ‘a number of cows’ had died as a result of malnutrition. The brothers were prosecuted by the council for failing to provide an appropriate diet for the cows, a dry bedding area for animals and suitable accommodation for sheep.
The judge heard that the brothers were unable to sell their cows at anything other than a considerable loss because of bovine TB ‘lockdown’ restrictions, but they could not afford to feed them all.
Sentencing both, district judge Andrew Shaw said the pair, who are third generation farmers, had failed to make what should have been ‘a very easy decision’ last March. The pair had spent thousands of pounds on new cattle to boost their dairy farm business, but when Flintshire animal welfare officers visited the farm they found malnourished and emaciated cows as well as poorly kept sheep.
The judge said: “You had been farming the land fairly successfully for many years. You were trying to make the farm more successful when you bought more animals in October 2008. Then you faced a dilemma which you should not have struggled with.” He added: “You should have sold them because you had to feed them. That is not difficult and it should have occurred to you both. There is no doubt that animals suffered and some died because of this.”
The brothers were given a community order, which requires them to stay indoors at their home between 9pm and 5am – Gareth Jones for four months and Kenneth for two months. Both are to be fitted with electronic tags and they were ordered to pay £6,500 each in prosecution costs.
Gareth Jones, 55, was handed a harsher sentence because Judge Shaw said he held the main responsibility for running the farm due to his 49-year-old brother’s ill health.
The judge said imposing a prison sentence would be ‘catastrophic’ for both the family and business. They escaped a ban on keeping animals. The judge said he would not stop the brothers keeping animals because it would destroy their livelihood, adding: “It is likely you will be the subject of regular inspections from now on, and you should use your common sense and welcome that. Your plight is going to be extremely difficult in the coming months and you should take advantage of any support you can.”
Information from http://www.flintshirechronicle.co.uk/flintshire-news/local-flintshire-news/2011/09/23/flintshire-farmers-neglect-led-to-death-of-cows-51352-29473802/#.TnxPl5eGrq8.twitter
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