Skip to Navigation | Skip to Content



How Can I Reduce the Risk of TB On-Farm?

It is important to prevent the introduction of infected animals to any herd. Voluntary post-movement testing of animals in addition to pre-movement testing will reduce still further the risk of spreading the disease and is recommended as best practice, although the risk cannot be completely eliminated.

Careful sourcing of cattle for your farm, paying attention to the TB history of the herd and area of origin, is as important as checking eligibility for pre-movement testing.

  • Every herd owner can promote high standards of disease prevention and control through farm health planning. It is important that you discuss the benefits of herd health planning with your veterinary practitioner.
  • English and Welsh herd owners must adhere to their country’s rules for pre-movement testing when moving cattle out of England and Wales.
  • Farmers and land owners can also improve their own on-farm bio security by following these simple rules:

Cattle to cattle transmission will occur irrespective of pre-movement testing so be careful where you purchase stock from and make sure that your boundaries are secure so that stock from neighbouring fields don’t introduce this (or any other) disease.

Keep badgers away from stored cattle feed

  • Make walls and doors of feed stores secure, especially if they are used for storage of straights or include concentrate feed.
  • Ensure feed-store doors are shut, especially in the evening / at night as this is the peak time for badger visits.
  • If your feed store is accessible to badgers and too costly to modify consider storing your feed in a different building or in secure containers.
  • If building a new feed-store, consider ways of preventing wildlife access.

Make farm yards less attractive to badgers

  • Avoid leaving feed easily accessible in your yards as this is an attraction to badgers.
  • Avoid feeding cattle on the ground in your yards. Consider ways of preventing badgers from gaining access to feed.
  • Where badgers are gaining access to your cattle sheds try to close the entry points.
  • Ensure silage clamps are well covered and consider protecting the open face by electric netting at times when access is not needed.

Be aware of high risk areas at pasture i.e. areas where a high level of contact between badgers and cattle is likely

  • If possible avoid using high risk fields for grazing. If possible use them for arable crops or conservation for hay or silage or for grazing sheep if you have a mixed farm.
  • Avoid feeding concentrates on the ground at pasture especially in those fields frequented by the badgers (if you can’t avoid using these pastures).
  • Intensive grazing in particular may encourage cattle to feed at field margins where there may be contaminated setts or latrines. The bacteria that cause TB can persist for very long periods in contaminated areas long after the badgers have gone. There is an argument amongst scientists for exactly how long – some say months and others say years. Fencing off high risk setts at field margins will help.
  • Feed and water troughs can become contaminated by wildlife so keep an eye out for such signs of contamination and clean these out regularly.
  • Avoid the use of mineral blocks on high risk pastures.
  • Dispose of all badger carcasses that you find on your land.

Mole Valley Farmers and SCATS Countrystores provide a range of bio security products for your farm, such as badger fencing, wooden posts, gates, mineral bucket stands, feed bins, tarpaulins, and a range of crop packaging products and feed protection nets. Contact your local site to discuss your requirements.

Scotland was granted Official TB-Free status in September 2009. As a result, additional testing prior to certain movements of cattle to Scotland will be required from February 2010.

For further information please contact your local animal health office:

South West Regional Office Devon Tel: 01392 266373, Fax: 01392 266375, E-mail: ah.southwest@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk
Gloucester Animal Health Office Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire: Tel: 01452 627400, Fax: 01452 627400, E-mail: AH.Gloucester@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk
Taunton Animal Health Office Dorset and Somerset Tel: 01823 337922, Fax: 01823 338170, E-mail: AH.Truro@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk
Truro Animal Health Office Cornwall Tel: 01872 265500, Fax: 01872 265555, E-mail: AH.Truro@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk

For further information on parish testing frequencies, please visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/managingdisease/bTb/pti/

If you have any specific policy questions, officials within the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Departments for Great Britain can be contacted as follows:
TB Programme, Area 6E Millbank, c/o Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR, Telephone: 08459 335577

For further information on any aspect of Defra’s work, please contact the Defra Helpline by tel on: 08459 33 55 77 or by e-mail at helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk.


 


Contact us at MVF if you need more help >>

Back to top