Bovine TB: Are cattle movement controls protecting East Anglian farms?

With a general election only weeks away, every industry sector is battling to force their questions and demands into the public debate.

And farming is no different – but for all its many and complex challenges, there's one issue which always seems to rise to the top of the agenda.

The strategy to control of bovine tuberculosis (TB) has polarised political opinion, with the pilot badger culls in the south west of the country a constant and emotive source of controversy between farmers, scientists and animal rights campaigners.

Here in East Anglia, where the risk of TB is lower, there are no government-backed badger culls yet – but concerns remain over the efficiency of the government's movement controls in stopping the spread of the deadly cattle disease and allowing the livestock trade to continue.

More worryingly, a Norfolk farmer says he has encountered a gap in the line of defence which could potentially bring infected animals to a county which has so far escaped the worst ravages of the disease.

Roger Long is a cattle dealer based in Scarning, near Dereham, who sells 2,000 weaned calves a year, as well as 600 fattened animals for slaughter.

The scale of his business means he cannot limit his purchases to the safest parts of the country – those areas which require a four-yearly test for cattle herds, known as TB4 zones. Some animals are bought from higher-risk TB1 zones, where the restrictions are tighter and mandatory tests must be carried out once a year.

As a dealer, Mr Long is required to test all his animals which are over 42 days old within 60 days prior to their departure from his premises – but that 'pre-movement' testing would not apply to many cattle farmers in the TB4 areas of Norfolk and Suffolk, so he said he was concerned about the disease status of some animals which may arrive in the region.

'An animal from a TB4 area does not need to be tested before it goes to market, but you can actually have TB4 animals going to a market in a TB1 area,' he said, 'They stand there all day with those other animals waiting to be sold, and then they can be moved on to another TB4 farm having never been tested.

'We bought two animals at Sedgemoor (in Somerset) and when I got the sale sheet afterwards there was no information of a TB test being done, because they had come from Sussex.

'Because I am a dealer, I will need to test it before I can move it, but that animal could easily have been sold to my neighbour who does not have to comply with the same TB testing as me.

'They are both heifers so they could be calving at two-and-a-half years old, having never been tested, and having been through a TB1 market. It is a crazy situation, but it is a situation where not one person has done anything wrong.'

Mr Long, who is also a Norfolk delegate on the National Farmers' Union's regional livestock board, said he wanted more detailed information about testing history included on an animal's passport.

He also agrees with a Defra proposal for mandatory post-movement testing for any animal which has moved through a TB1 area and is expected to live for more than 120 days – ie, an animal to be used for breeding rather than fattening for slaughter. But that plan has now been delayed until after the general election.

Mr Long said: 'I would like the passport to have a box on it for more TB information, so that when it goes to market it is clearly visible whether animals have come from a TB4 area.

'It does make a mockery of the system, and it proves we need to have post-movement testing for anything that has moved through a TB1 market. Defra promised they would do it, but it has been pushed back because of the election.'

A Defra spokesman confirmed that post-movement tests were still part of the department's plans. He said: 'It's clear that there is no single measure that will on its own achieve control of TB. That is why we are pursuing a comprehensive strategy to tackle bovine TB, which includes regular cattle testing, tighter cattle movement controls, vaccinations and culling in areas where the disease is widespread.

'Culling infected wildlife combined with tight cattle controls has worked in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, and leading vets agree that it needs to be part our approach.'

The TB control strategy could change dramatically after the general election, with Tory MP and Defra secretary Elizabeth Truss pledging to extend badger culls and Labour's shadow minister Maria Eagle promising to scrap the policy.

But whichever party holds the balance of power in May, the consequences of a TB outbreak remain severe for cattle businesses.

'If we had a TB reactor it would completely close us down,' said Mr Long. 'We would only be able to sell direct to slaughter, or to someone with an approved fattening unit, and there is only one of those in East Anglia.

'We would be sitting on a pile of animals that would have to be fattened through, and we would not be able to trade. It would not quite be the end of our world, but it would be very close.

'Nobody wants to go around killing badgers. We want the badgers to be healthy, but there are so many of them infected with TB that by leaving them it will spread the disease and these badgers will suffer a horrible demise.'

What is bovine TB?

Bovine TB is a chronic, infectious disease affecting the respiratory system of cattle and other mammals including badgers – the carriers which have been largely blamed for spreading the disease in the west of England and parts of Wales.

Humans can catch bovine TB through unpasteurised milk from an infected animal or inhaling bacteria breathed out by infected animals – but the risk of infection is considered very low for the vast majority of the human population.

Bovine TB is mainly spread into new herds through the movement of infected cattle that have not been detected, which can spread bacteria through coughing and sneezing which are then inhaled by other animals in close contact.

If bovine TB is confirmed at a farm, movement restrictions will be enforced, and some cattle may have to be killed.

Between 2008 and December 2014, almost a quarter of a million cattle were culled due to TB in this country according to Defra figures. Nine million cattle were tested for the disease in Britain last year, and 4,692 new outbreaks were found as the infection spreads from the worst-affected areas ion the south-west of the country.

How do vets test for the disease?

The test for bovine TB involves injecting each animal with a small amount of tuberculin – a harmless protein extract of Mycobacterium tuberculosis – which is designed to test the animal's immune response.

Each animal has two small patches of their neck shaved, and the thickness of the skin is measured. Two injections are made – one with a bovine tuberculin and another with an avian variation.

The vet will return 72 hours later to assess the size and nature of any allergic response. The reaction to either tuberculins (avian and bovine) are compared to determine whether the test result is considered positive, negative or inconclusive.

A routine pre-movement test on a batch of Mr Long's outgoing cattle was carried out this week by Anne Flanagan, of Dereham-based vets Larwood and Kennedy.

She said: 'The idea is if the animal has been exposed to bovine TB it will have an allergic reaction to the bovine tuberculin. It will come back with a lump at the site of the injection.

'The avian tuberculin allows us to distinguish between two different infections. If there is a bovine reaction and no avian reaction, then it is bovine TB. If there is an avian reaction and no bovine reaction you are in the clear. But if there is reaction on both sites and the bovine reaction is a bigger lump, then it is TB.

'People could argue that it is subjective, but it is really not. There are set guidelines set out which determine what constitutes a reactor or not.'