The British Veterinary Association held a session in Parliament to brief MPs on Bovine TB. It was chaired by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Chair Neil Parish MP.
The briefingwas attended by MPs from across the UK and led by BVA Senior Vice President John Blackwell and BVA President Sean Wensley.
The aim of the session was to help MPs in affected areas better understand the background of the disease and its impact on the ground, from a unique veterinary perspective. It also set out the British Veterinary Association’s latest information and current policy. “The briefing was to educate MPs on the wider issue and was aimed at an educated, lay audience”
On the question of ‘What is bovine TB?’ John Blackwell explained it was a complex infectious zoonotic disease of animals and humans. Whilst it was primarily hosted by cattle and badgers, attendees heard an MP’s constituency example of alpacas being infected.
It was clear the effects of TB on cattle reduced production efficiency and caused revenue loss to farms and farming communities. Nationally, a robust eradication and control strategy is vital to maintain business viability and trade within and beyond the European Union.
The briefingheard that it would be “unsustainable for British agriculture going forward” if bovine TB was not eradicated in the UK.
The Randomised Badger Culling Trial report (2007) established that badgers “contribute significantly to the disease in cattle” and that “cattle-to-cattle transmission is also very important in high incidence areas and is the main cause of disease spread to new areas”.
On the subject of TB testing John Blackwell said: “The test is not infallible but it is the best we’ve got and it is used around the world to eradicate TB”.
Proactive culling of badgers reduced the incidence of bovine TB in cattle herds and as a result the Government allowed two pilot badgers culls to go ahead in August 2013 in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset. These used the method of controlled shooting rather than cage trapping and shooting. A report by the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) found that the first year of culling had failed to meet criteria for effectiveness and humaneness.
Following assurances from Defra that all IEP recommendations would be implemented, BVA supported a second year of culling in the pilot areas, but data indicated that controlled shooting could not be carried out effectively and humanely based on the criteria set for the pilots, so BVA withdrew its support for controlled shooting as part of the badger control policy: BVA made clear it now supports the tried and tested method of cage trapping and shooting in the specified pilot areas, which included Dorset, and in any subsequent wider roll out.
Vaccination of both cattle and badgers was discussed, but on cattle the BCG (vaccine) did not fully protect any species. Also the Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) test was not yet validated and currently illegal in the EU.
For badgers there is an injectable BCG vaccine but this was not proven to protect from infection. It reduced the severity of the disease in infected animals but the test to differentiate was unreliable and there was no clear evidence of its impact on bovine TB in cattle.
John Blackwell was questioned on the effectiveness of vaccination and said it was not likely to make a difference in the short or medium term, only in the long term. He added however that vets and farmers “need to utilise all tools in the box” including vaccination.
There was clear concern expressed by MPs attending the briefing from across Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Cheshire, South Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where cases of TB in cattle increased by 31 per cent between 2013 and 2014.
Neil Parish concluded by saying that all MPs, farmers and vets had a duty to support the health and welfare of all animals. He called on BVA to continue to be clear in its view that cage trapping and shooting was still a valid means of controlling the spread of TB, as part of a comprehensive strategy to eradicate and control bovine TB, as he said the media had in some cases implied BVA had withdrawn its support for the cull entirely, which it had not.
A BVA briefing document issued to MPsand parliamentary staff attending called for MPs to put pressure on the European Commission to progress with a cattle vaccine and Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) test, and for parliamentarians to support its call for a TB Eradication Board for England. Ultimately, BVA called for MPs to support a continued comprehensive TB eradication strategy.