Protecting Scotland’s Officially TB Free (OTF) Status must be a priority for all cattle keepers according to Vice President and former vet Alasdair Macnab.
Writing for SRUC’s Monthly Beef and Sheep Notes, he states: “Over the last year there were some TB breakdowns in cattle in the southwest of Scotland. This triggered concerns that bovine TB was present in wildlife in Scotland. NFU Scotland partnered with NFU Wales and APHA recently held a national webinar to explain what is happening.
“The Animal and Health Plant Agency (APHA) in Scotland carry out epidemiology investigations in all TB breakdowns to establish the source of each breakdown. Over the last ten years, there was an average of 12 breakdowns per year. The vast majority were traced back to an animal brought into the herd from a TB1 area in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. The source of the remaining few is undetermined. The concern was that the source was wildlife.
“APHA investigations indicate there is no significant wildlife TB infection in Scotland. If there was then TB with the same genotype would appear in breakdowns on other farms locally where there is no nose-to-nose contact with the breakdown farm, or there might be a delayed recurrence of TB on farms with a history of a breakdown and the finding of the same genotype of TB. Neither scenario occurs in Scotland and none of the breakdowns in Scotland have shared the same genotype.
“Abbi Reader from NFU Wales described life under TB1 rules: annual testing, recurrent restrictions on movements, the worry of a test result, the consequences of confirmed TB in your herd and the financial restraints resulting from the inability to trade cattle and rear them at home. These are things which farmers and crofters in Scotland have told NFU Scotland they don’t want. How do we ensure it doesn’t happen?
“The Scottish cattle herd benefits from Officially Tuberculosis Free (OTF) (TB4) rules with reduced testing (four yearly instead of annual); many herds are exempt from testing and no pre- or post-movement testing is required. Auctioneers in England report increasing demand and values for breeding stock from Scotland, all of which adds to the necessity to maintain our OTF (TB4) status. It can be maintained and needs a cautionary approach.
“First, plan your cattle buying policy. Buying stock from TB1 areas will always have a risk of carrying TB. The prefect scenario is you don’t buy stock that has spent any part of its life in TB1 areas. Life isn’t perfect and Scottish Government has recognised that by changing the Tuberculosis Order to reduce the time limit for pre-movement testing for moves to Scotland from 60 days to 30 days to reduce the time animals may be exposed to TB at the premises of origin. A post-movement test is still required.
“Secondly, if a business does buy cattle from a TB1 area, it is in the interest of that business and all Scottish businesses that these cattle are kept isolated from other cattle until a clear post-movement test is completed.
“Thirdly, there is also a risk of TB (and other diseases) spreading between neighbouring cattle herds by nose-to-nose contact. A physical separation should be considered such as agreeing with a neighbour when fields will be used or putting in place a 3-metre separation using fencing, woodland or a hedge.”