SEVENTEENTH SPECIAL REPORT
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
reported to the House on Bovine TB in its Thirteenth Report
of Session 2003-04, published on 13 July 2004 as HC 638. The Government's
Reply to the Report was received on 13 September 2004.
Government response
Introduction
The Government welcomes this report. Following the
publication of the implementation plan for delivering the Animal
Health and Welfare Strategy in England, the Government is now
developing a long term strategy for bovine tuberculosis (TB) in
Great Britain. The Committee's support of a bovine TB strategy
and the recommendations in its report will be invaluable in taking
that process forward.
The Committee has clearly identified that good animal
husbandry practices play a significant role in helping to control
bovine TB; and that farmers should demonstrate their commitment
by following best practice guidelines in relation to husbandry.
This response has been agreed with the Devolved Administrations
and incorporates views of the Independent Scientific Group on
Cattle TB (ISG).
Recommendation 1
We welcome the news of progress, however
limited, in the development of a cattle vaccine.
We strongly urge the Government to move forwards to field trials
of available vaccinations as soon as possible. However, we concede
that an effective cattle vaccine is some way off, and that even
after one is found the problem of differentiating between vaccinated
and previously infected animals, with the associated trade issues,
will remain. We therefore acknowledge that in the medium or even
long term cattle vaccination is likely to form only part - albeit
a significant part- of the response to bovine TB. (Paragraph 20)
The Government is currently considering
research requirements for the next three to five years.
This consideration includes scientific review of potential field
trials to test the efficacy of BCG in cattle either by means of
natural transmission studies in cattle vaccinated as neonates
in the UK and/or abroad or in a laboratory with suitable containment
facilities. Natural transmission studies will probably need to
be carried out on a larger scale than laboratory tests but offer
the advantage of enabling us to evaluate how good the protection
from vaccination would be in the field. This will be important
in later consideration of what contributions cattle vaccination
can make to an overall control strategy.
Alongside the field trials of BCG, the
Government is also continuing to pursue the development of new
vaccine candidates.
Recommendation 2
Spending more on research into cattle
vaccines now and in the future may well mean less overall expenditure
on bovine TB in the long run.
We recommend that the Government reallocate resources accordingly.
(Paragraph 21)
Over the last five years the Government has been
funding research into developing a bovine TB vaccine, spending
approximately £1.5 million each year. An independent TB vaccine
programme advisor provides scientific advice and expertise in
this area and ensures that proper links are made with human TB
vaccine development. The Government is also working closely with
researchers in Ireland and New Zealand to learn of any developments
across the TB community internationally and draw on worldwide
expert advice.
The Government continues to
consider all the possible research options and invest in areas
of vaccine development that will move us closer to the control
of bovine TB. TB vaccine research is an extremely complex area
but this integrated approach places us in the best possible position
to target research funding appropriately.
Recommendation 3
We continue to support research which
aims to develop a workable test to differentiate between vaccinated
and previously infected animals.
Such research must obviously proceed hand-in-hand with research
into a cattle vaccine. (Paragraph 22)
The Government notes the Committee's support
for research in this area, which is being considered for the next
research requirements round.
Recommendation 4
We recommend that the Government seeks
ways to carry forward the work to test the effectiveness of the
BCG in badgers before the Randomised Badger Culling Trial is completed.
Although significant hurdles remain, not least devising a reliable
method of delivering a vaccine to a wild animal, we believe that
a badger vaccine might have an important role to play in managing
the disease—and it is clear that the development of a vaccine
for badgers is some way in advance of one for cattle. (Paragraph
24)
The Government accepts the Committee's recommendation.
The scientific studies necessary for the establishment of a field
experiment to test the effect of BCG in the badger in a natural
setting are already in hand.
In parallel with the field experiment,
we are exploring oral formulations of vaccines suitable for delivery
to wildlife, and hope to use an industry-based product development
approach, ideally in collaboration with a commercial partner.
At the end of April 2004 a workshop was held with the animal pharmaceutical
industry to discuss how The Government, working in partnership
with industry, might take BCG vaccine forward for use in badgers.
The outcome of this meeting was positive and a way forward is
being considered in conjunction with the future research requirements
for 2005/06. However, some significant barriers to progress were
also identified, and these are now under consideration.
Further to this there are the on-going experiments
with a BCG vaccine in captive badgers in Ireland in collaboration
with researchers at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. The Government
is monitoring progress carefully and has expressed an interest
in developing a more formal relationship.
Recommendation 5
We recommend that Defra immediately
commission research into other wildlife reservoirs of bovine TB
infection. It should
particularly look at the impact of vaccinating badgers on infection
in other species, and the role played by other species in transmitting
tuberculosis to cattle. (Paragraph 25)
A Central Science Laboratory project investigating
the risk to cattle from wildlife species other than badgers recently
confirmed that M.bovis had been found in five out of the
six species of deer (roe, red, fallow, sika, muntjac) as well
as other wildlife species. The authors carried out a basic risk
assessment and highlighted that deer may pose a risk to disease
in cattle. However more studies are needed as it is not clear
what, if any, contribution any of the species examined in the
study make to the problem of TB in cattle.
The Government is also awaiting the final
report from a further research project looking at TB in wildlife,
in particular small mammals.
Together with this evidence, the future research requirements
into the potential risk that wildlife may pose in transmission
of TB to cattle will be considered.
Recommendation 6
We believe that the gamma interferon
test has the potential to be a highly effective diagnostic tool.
We recommend that Government provide financial incentives to
farmers to join the gamma interferon field trial. Its aim should
be to recruit 600 herds as soon as possible, and so to complete
the trial quickly. (Paragraph 30)
The Government is disappointed at the
current low level of farmer commitment to the gamma interferon
pilot which, as the Committee points out, could have significant
benefits for the industry.
The Committee's independent endorsement
of the pilot is most welcome and will, we hope, help to gain greater
industry support.
The Government has promulgated the benefits
of the pilot by publishing an article in the Veterinary Record
in July 2004. Further
measures will include the circulation of a brief fact sheet that
the industry can use to disseminate information about the pilot
to their members. This
will be available in the autumn, to coincide with the end of summer
grazing in beef herds.
The Government is currently considering
the efficacy of a range of options for improving farmer recruitment
rates, including the potential for providing financial incentives.
However, advisors' initial views
are that providing financial incentives would breach state aid
rules. Other
non-financial measures currently being considered include reviewing
how the benefits of the pilot are explained to individual farmers
(by Defra staff) and whether more could be done to promote the
pilot amongst veterinary professionals.
Recommendation 7
We recommend that the data gathered
in the TB99 survey, together with other information, is used to
identify good practice in animal husbandry, and that guidelines
for farmers are drawn up based on that good practice.
We further recommend that Defra communicate those guidelines
clearly to farmers. (Paragraph 33)
The Government accepts this recommendation
and welcomes the Committees view that farmers need to demonstrate
adherence to best practice husbandry guidelines.
Recommendation 8
Farmers should be aware that the Minister
takes the view that good animal husbandry has a significant role
to play in controlling bovine TB, and that he is considering using
a number of powerful levers to ensure that best practice is followed.
Notwithstanding their reservations about focussing on husbandry,
rather than badger culling, we recommend that farmers demonstrate
that they take their own responsibilities seriously by following
best practice guidelines in relation to husbandry. Given that
badger culling is unlikely to begin imminently, and that in any
event it is likely to form only part of the response to the disease,
it is vital that no stone is left unturned in dealing with bovine
TB. (Paragraph 35)
The Government accepts these recommendations.
The Government will use the outcome of the analysis
of the TB99 research data to identify factors and actions that
farmers can take to reduce the risk of bovine TB; and will look
to communicate these findings as soon as the analysis becomes
available.
In 2003 the Code of Recommendations for the Welfare
of Livestock, which contains good husbandry advice for farmers,
was revised. It is a legal requirement for farmers to have access
to, and be familiar with the Code.
In a new initiative under the Animal Health and Welfare
Strategy for Great Britain, the Government has set up a Working
Group of interested parties to encourage and support farm health
planning as an everyday activity. The Working Group will be reviewing
(and where necessary developing further) advice and training,
communication networks and better dissemination of information.
It is hoped this will ensure that the latest developments in farm
health planning are communicated effectively to the wider research
and teaching community as well as other interested stakeholders.
Recommendation 9
Although we do not believe that trace
elements should become a main focus of research activity, they
are clearly an area of interest.
We therefore recommend that Defra consider ways in which it
might encourage projects aiming to find out more about trace elements.
(Paragraph 39)
Anecdotal evidence that trace element
deficiencies in soils are related to susceptibility to tuberculosis
to cattle has been presented on more than one occasion.
It is postulated that deficiencies in trace elements such as selenium,
copper and iodine result in a compromised immune response. In
turn this leads to increased disease susceptibility. Dr Helen
Fullerton has submitted a paper 'Bovine tuberculosis: a nutritional
solution' to both the ISG and to the House of Commons Agricultural
Select Committee (1999) for consideration. The ISG have not dismissed
the possibility of a nutritional link but have felt that given
the available resources for research, the link is not of sufficient
priority for research funding.
However, the significance of trace elements
has been considered as part of two projects funded by MAFF/Defra.
One (SE3001) explored the possibility of an association between
levels of trace elements in the soil and the spatial pattern of
TB incidents in cattle herds in England and Wales. There was no
obvious association between areas of low levels of trace elements
and high TB occurrence from this element of the project. Another
project (SE3013) compares the level of trace elements in blood
samples from cattle which are positive (on culture) for bovine
TB with the level in samples from cattle which are negative. This
project is not due to finish until 2005.
It is also envisaged that the TB99 epidemiological
survey will add to our understanding on the potential risks nutrition
might pose. More
detailed findings from this study are expected later in the year.
Recommendation 10
We agree with the Government that once
the information gathered from the Irish Four Areas Study has been
published and properly peer reviewed it should be carefully examined
to see in what ways it might inform policy in this country.
But we echo the comments of the Godfray report: even if the
Irish study suggests that proactive culling has a positive impact
on the incidence of bovine TB there are significant differences
between Ireland and the United Kingdom which may well mean that
the conclusions drawn about policy there differ from those drawn
here. (Paragraph 42)
The Government notes the Committee's views
and agrees that it will be necessary to undertake an analysis
of any results from the Irish Study, taking into account the differences
between Ireland and the United Kingdom, before using them as the
basis for any policy decisions.
Recommendation 11
We recommend that the Government continue
to work with the Irish Government and other Governments to seek
solutions to our shared problem of bovine TB.
(Paragraph 43)
The Government accepts this recommendation
Recommendation 12
We also support the Government's decision
now to develop a new strategy to deal with bovine TB - but we
are less impressed by the decision to consult about the matter.
Defra must surely know by now what its key stakeholders think
about this matter; and repeated consultations are unlikely to
shift entrenched attitudes in any event. Now is the time for decisions
and actions. (Paragraph 46)
We welcome the Committee's support for
the development of a new strategy to deal with bovine TB.
The Government published on 9 February
2004 a consultation document that represented the outcome of the
first stage of the review of the TB strategy first announced by
the Secretary of State in February 2003.
Separate consultations were issued
in Wales and Scotland.
Government action alone is not enough
to have an impact on the spread of this disease and it is important
that we work in partnership with key stakeholders who also need
to play their part. This
is a key principle of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy.
We therefore believe it was correct to consult on the new strategy
and the package of short term measures.
The written consultation was not the limit
of the recent consultation.
The Government organised a series
of regional meetings to discuss the issues raised in the written
consultation document with a wide range of stakeholders.
We also plan to work closely with stakeholders
in the next stage of the review with a view, to developing
a new GB TB Strategy in 2005.
On pre-movement testing we believe the
best way forward is to continue to work with stakeholders to develop
detailed proposals along with assessments of the costs and impacts.
The remaining short term proposals which were set out in the consultation
earlier this year will be implemented as soon as practically possible.
Recommendation 13
The political reality is that culling
badgers could only ever be a limited part of a policy to deal
with the problem of bovine TB.
But in any event we do not believe that any useful decision
can be made about badger culling until the results of the Irish
Four Areas Study and more importantly the Randomised Badger Culling
Trial have been received and can be properly assessed. We do not
therefore recommend that a decision to adopt culling as a policy
response is taken prematurely. (Paragraph 47)
The Government notes the Committee's views
and reaffirms its commitment to making any decision on badger
culling on the best available evidence base.
Recommendation 14
We urge all concerned to respond positively
to the challenges of bovine TB.
We believe that the recommendations in this report set out
a number of steps through which the Government and others can
do so. (Paragraph 48)
The Government accepts this recommendation.
The Government has introduced positive
measures to control bovine TB and will continue to work with interested
parties to seek solutions in managing this disease.
We value this recognition that
others also have a part to play, and propose to pursue the recommendations
further in the developing TB Strategy.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
September 2004
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