Memorandum submitted by the County Durham
Badger Group
BOVINE TB
1. The Durham County Badger Group (part
of Durham Wildlife Trust) have asked me to submit this brief letter
giving the views of Badger Group members.
2. County Durham is of course outside the
traditional TB areas, but we feel that if more is not done by
the Government to prevent cattle-to-cattle transmission of bTB
we may well find ourselves in a similar position to the South
West, in this matter.
3. In County Durham, many farmers have had
badger setts on their land for generations, and if you ask them
about bTB they will say they have never had a positive TB test
in, say, 30 years of farming. We do feel that all this may change
if the Government does not tighten its restrictions on movement
of cattle from high-risk areas to areas such as our own. We are
VERY CONCERNED that not enough is being done to prevent the spread
of bTB throughout the country by cattle movement.
4. Some farmers buy stock from our own County
only, but many do not, and we have the situation where stock bought
in from higher-risk areas are here for months before they are
TB tested, giving them ample opportunity to infect neighbouring
cattle, and wildlife.
5. Could we please urge Defra to introduce
compulsory pre- and post-movement bTB testing of cattle, and more
rigorous movement restrictions from high-risk to low-risk areas
such as our own. This is the only way to reduce the risk of TB
being introduced into both cattle and wildlife.
6. Certainly in this area the public at
large will not stand for badgers being blamed for spreading bTB
when it is clearly the lack of action on the part of the Government
which is responsible.
Janice Brabban
Secretary,
Durham County Badger Group
May 2004
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