conservativerural action

When I am not in Westminster I try to get to as many farms as possible and speak to those at the muddy end of food production.

I cannot remember the last time I met a group of farmers who didn’t mention the problem of bovine TB, even in places many miles from the so-called ‘hotspot’ areas. This is hardly surprising.

The disease is having a devastating impact on the cattle industry and shows absolutely no sign of abating. Recent figures slipped out by the Government reveal a 40% increase in the number of infected cows slaughtered in the last year alone, now up to a staggering 40,000.

In fact, since Labour came to power over 200,000 animals have been culled at a cost to the taxpayer of over £600 million – and the problem is getting worse not better. More and more counties across the country are affected and worryingly domestic pets are increasingly falling victim to the disease.

For many farmers this is the last straw. Over 100 dairy farmers a month have left the industry under the current Labour Government and there is no doubt that the failure to get a grip of this terrible disease has been one of the drivers.

So what can be done? Vaccination is an important long-term tool to develop but there will be no vaccine available for widespread use for some years yet.

Beating TB requires addressing the vectors of disease and that means not only cattle but wildlife, particularly badgers, which are responsible for the majority of breakdowns in cattle. Without removing sick badgers (who let us not forget suffer dreadfully with TB) we can never hope to eradicate this disease.

The Conservatives want to see healthy wildlife living alongside healthy cattle. In many areas of the country we have neither.