Increased frequency of TB testing
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that bovine TB (bTB) testing in cattle in the High Risk Area (HRA) of England will increase in frequency to once every six months.
The announcement comes in an effort to more quickly identify and eradicate bTB in England’s cattle herds. In their announcement, Defra have also stated that testing can remain on an annual basis for those herds that have gone five or more years without disease or for farms that have been accredited under the industry-led Cattle Herd Certification Standards (CHeCS) scheme, which requires a raft of biosecurity measures to be in place.
Measures have also been announced on compensation arrangements for infected animals (pigs, sheep, goats, deer and camelids) that have to be slaughtered.