BTB always has been and always will remain in the herd until improved cattle testing is used on the farm. It is available and must be used now. The current test is cruel to farmers, cattle, badgers and the public. We cannot get on top of a disease when we cannot test for it reliably. #WakeupDefra

Bovine TB, or Mycobacterium bovis, or bovine tubercle bacillus, is part of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The organism is carried by many animals including deer, cats, dogs, pigs, alpacas, sheep and, of course, cattle. Mycobacterium bovis is an aerobic bacterium and the cause of TB in cattle. Bovine TB can jump the species barrier and cause tuberculosis in humans, and this is where the problem has historically been. In the 1930s and 40s, it was responsible for over 50,000 cases a year and 2500 deaths annually. By 1960, all herds had been tested twice for TB, and all animals which had tested positive, or 'reactors', were slaughtered and it became a notifiable disease.

The government introduced compulsory cattle testing and devised a compensation programme for all destroyed cattle.

Bovine TB Overview and Badger Cull Timeline

Bovine TB and Badger persecution, including culls has a long horrible history in Britain. Since 1971, when a Badger was found in Gloucestershire with TB, England and Wales have been killing badgers in an attempt to stop Bovine TB in cattle. Now, even to those, unfamiliar with pathogen diseases, something is obviously and immediately wrong with the destruction of a wild native (non-bovine) to 'save' domesticated bovine animals - Cattle. We have researched and recorded a timeline of Bovine TB in Britain over the last century and the Badger culls since William Haigh first announced that a Conservative Government would licence Badger culls and repeal the Hunting Act back in 2009.

The Welsh Government are working to eliminate bovine TB from an area of west Wales by targeting every possible source of infection. The area has the highest bTB herd breakdown in the country and is important for beef and dairy production. Their comprehensive approach, with strict attention to every detail, provides a comprehensive solution that is already showing improvements in bTB throughout the country. In an area of west Wales, they have put extra measures in place with the aim of eradicating the disease in the local cattle population. This area is called the Intensive Action Area (IAA). They established the IAA to tackle all sources of bovine TB infection in domestic and wild animal species. This is a similar approach to that used in New Zealand, where they have successfully eradicated the disease from large areas of the country.

Lame claims explain in detail why the badger cull will fail and why we believe it will not impact on the reduction BTb in cattle and may make matters worse. It has been divisive in the countryside and financially it is not viable. Bovine TB impacts on the farming community, cattle and conservationists alike we, therefore, need to find a sustainable and effective way to reduce the herd breakdowns. We believe that culling badgers cannot help bTB in cattle. Save Me Trust is currently working with farmers and the NFU to look at this issue. The current badger cull is failing farmers, failing cattle and failing badgers. Click here to read the complete lame claims file on the badger cull or click on the individual claims below.

The logical way forward is to vaccinate the cattle and this is the one area where both sides agree. The reason we don't vaccinate cattle at this time is we couldn't sell them in Europe due to regulations. This was proposed in 1997 by Lord Krebs in his report. We are waiting for a DIVA test to be accepted to differentiate between vaccinated and wild strains. We are supporting the campaign to vaccinate badgers. Badger BCG alone is not the solution to bTB, but it does have an immediate effect with no associated negative impact. The Governments Vaccine Deployment Project is one such undertaking.

The Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) was the first robust scientific evaluation of the effect of badger culling on cattle TB. It lasted 10 years and cost in excess of £50 million. It was overseen by an Independent Scientific Group (ISG).

Two culling treatments were undertaken: reactive culling where localised culls were carried out on farms that had recently experienced a TB outbreak in cattle, and proactive culling where larger scale areas were culled. Both these treatments were restricted to regions where the historical incidence of TB in cattle was high. In addition to culling, there were matched "control" areas where no culling was carried out. The principle is the same as we see in medical trials, where one segment of the population receives a treatment drug and another receives a placebo, the idea being that, at the end of the trial, any significant effects can be reliably ascribed to the treatment.

One thing we all know and agree on is that Lord Krebs' and the RBCT Trial states that culling badgers in small areas increases the spread of bovine Tb and increases the frequency of bTB within badgers.

SO WHY ARE FARMERS ILLEGALLY CULLING?

No one can deny that bTB has spread across the country over the last decade yet controversy rages as to the reason for the spread.

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Wehavegreathopesforthisconference.

“We have great hopes for this conference. By bringing so much wisdom together in one room we hope to take a step towards establishing the whole truth about bovine TB, and, in a frank and open discussion, open a new era of genuine cooperation in the fight against this pernicious pathogen.” Dr Brian May’s opening remarks at this unique event set the tone for the proceedings as Farmers, badger experts, veterinarians, and wildlife groups gathered together to listen to the leading experts, drawn from all around the UK and the Republic of Ireland, united for the first time on a journey to discover science fact - not science fiction.

The conference was chaired by Professor Lord Krebs with an overview of Bovine TB presented by Prof Ian Boyd, the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor who said 'Getting everybody together in one place is vital to evidence and values and to assess the best science".

The conference agenda covered four strategic categories, each independently chaired, and leading to a developing policy debate to conclude the day. The first of which was Cattle based controls with Prof Rosie Woodroffe in the chair. Prof James Wood discussed the performance of the current cattle tests and concluded " More stringent cattle measures, such as radial testing around infected herds in the 'edge area', have been implemented. Thier impact may also take some years to become apparent'. who was followed by Prof Christianne Glossop, Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales who discussed the Welsh approach to the eradication of Bovine TB. Prof Rowland Kao, The university of Glasgow provided insights from Scotland’s approach to Bovine TB before we moved on to look at new testing methods and how they can improve cattle controls with Dr Cath Rees of Nottingham University. To complete this section Richard Sibley, a practising veterinary surgeon from Devon discussed frontline TB management from vets prospective.

The second strategic section covered badger population controls and was chaired by Prof Glyn Hewinson. the APHA’s lead scientist. Prof Christl Donnelly of UCL London covered the Randomised Badger Culling Trials (RBCT), that remain as the benchmark in providing data to resolve the problem of TB in badgers. Prof Tim Coulson, Prof of Zoology at Oxford University discussed the effectiveness and humaneness of the government's current policy of farmer led badger culls. Prof Coulson said, "we can be 95% certain that a combination of controlled shooting and cage trapping removed less than 48.1% of the pre-cull population of badgers in Somerset and less than 39.1% of the pre-cull population in Gloucestershire". Dr Lucy Brunton covered the incidence of Bovine TB in both the Somerset and Gloucestershire cull zones in year two of the farmer led culls. Her report concluded "This analysis provides some insight into the impact of the intervention but is limited by the non-random nature of area selection and lack of subsequent selection of control areas. Statistical testing of the difference in incidence rates between the combined intervention and comparison areas found there to be no significant difference in incidence rate for any of the time periods'

Dr Lucy Brunton covered the incidence of Bovine TB in both the Somerset and Gloucestershire cull zones in year two of the farmer led culls. Her report concluded "This analysis provides some insight into the impact of the intervention but is limited by the non-random nature of area selection and lack of subsequent selection of control areas. Statistical testing of the difference in incidence rates between the combined intervention and comparison areas found there to be no significant difference in incidence rate for any of the time periods'

Prof James O’Keefe DAFM discussed how the Republic of Ireland, who have completed extensive badger culls over many years, are now moving from culling badgers to a vaccination programme. Prof O’Keefe defined clearly the policy used by the Irish government was based upon reducing the badger population to a level where vaccination became the more effective option without risking local extinctions, concluding the model would probably not work in England due to the much larger badger populations found here.

Dr Graham Smith from APHA presented ‘Modelling the effects of localised badger culling” where he explained the theory behind how DEFRA, the Welsh and Northern Irish governments use data to produce robust simulation models related to badger vaccination and culling. The final speaker on this section was Dr Liz Wellington from Warwick University who presented PCR guided badger culling - could it work?

Delegates and speakers then had a chance to meet and discuss the morning's presentations during an informal vegetarian lunch before returning to the Lecture Room for the afternoon.

Prof Christl Donnelly chaired the third strategic section Vaccination with Prof Glyn Hewinson, APHA lead scientist covering cattle vaccination in Britain. Dr Freya Smith APHA, a vet and epidemiologist covered badger vaccination in Britain, followed by Prof Eamonn Gormley, University College Dublin who discussed Badger Vaccination in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Dr Frazer Menzies from DAERA, who discussed the Test-Vaccinate-Remove (TVR) method used in Northern Ireland.

The fourth strategic category Farm Security was chaired by Dr Brian May who introduced Dr Amie Adkin, a risk analyst specialising in animal and public health risks at APHA. Amie discussed improving cattle controls with risk-based trading. Prof Rosie Woodroffe previewed her groundbreaking new work on interactions between badger and cattle covering her research and outcomes of her trial to support the hypothesis that badgers and cattle do not interact directly in pastures.

The section concluded with a talk by Dr Gareth Enticott of Cardiff University who looked at the relevance New Zealand to TB controls in the UK. That set the stage for Nigel Gibbens, the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer to summarise the government’s TB Control Strategy for England. The conference adjourned briefly for afternoon tea before returning to an open panel discussion titled ‘How should these new insights inform TB control policy?

Each panel member was given two minutes to summarise what they believed to be the key points of the day. From the perspective of an audience member it was pleasing to note that all the panel had learnt something new from the presentations with most saying that they still had some questions that they would like to have had answered, overall, to summarise their comments and observations they concluded that the conference had delivered new and exciting insights in the fight against Bovine TB The delegates now had the opportunity to ask the assembled panel questions; Lord Krebs asked for the questions to be as succinct as possible to allow more people to ask their question and that he would take three questions at one time before asking the panel to answer. He then invited questions - immediately 50 or 60 hands wee held up - this was definitely going to be a lively debate. The first three questions were asked and answered by the panel, with lord Krebs allowing specific questions to individual panel members.

It was clear that Nigel Gibbons and Christianne Glossop would be busy, however, it was Sheila Bird who drew the first spontaneous applause from the delegates with a very honest and direct answer related to the lack of TB testing on culled badgers. Prof James Wood answered a number of questions regarding data used by the Government in estimating badger populations and min/max cull numbers whilst farmer Ian McGrath was happy to comment on his own farms experience, how it feels when you loose cattle to TB and the financial impact, not the business, his honest appraisal having an impact on many in the room.

The Chief Vet was the primary focus of the questions from farmers and the badger group members who asked some direct questions on key policy issues, and to his great credit, Nigel Gibbens, answered every question, directly and openly.

It panel debate was a fitting end to an incredible day. The BTB symposium brought together the leading scientific experts from around the UK, to discuss, a clearly emotive subject for all concerned, in scientific terms.To the credit of all speakers and delegates, the day was conducted in a spirit of collaboration and working together to find solutions to the problems caused by Bovine TB to cattle and wildlife.

As the delegates and speakers left the conference, it was a privilege to listen to their thoughts and comments on what had been a truly remarkable day, full of new insights and information to digest. We have received some amazing feedback from speakers and delegates from the day and a great response via social media. The BTB Symposium has been a catalyst to new insights, fresh thinking and collaborative working, we hope it will be a force that brings about the end to the suffering of all animals from Bovine TB.

WhatisBTb?

Btb is Mycobacterium bovis Mycobacterium bovis, often referred to as the bovine tubercle bacillus, is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, a group of organisms with the capacity to cause tuberculosis in humans. Most animals are potential reservoirs of infection. Cattle, in particular, are susceptible to infection and subsequent tuberculous lung disease caused by M. bovis.

Mycobacterium bovis is a slow-growing (16 to 20 hour generation time), aerobic bacterium and the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle (known as bovine TB). Related to M. tuberculosis—the bacterium which causes tuberculosis in humans—M. bovis can also jump the species barrier and cause tuberculosis in humans.

M.bovisincattle

During the 1930s, 40% of slaughtered cattle in England and Wales had obvious tuberculosis. Rates of disease have fallen dramatically since this time with new confirmed cases occurring in only about 0.4% of UK cattle herds each year. However, the incidence of tuberculous disease in UK cattle caused by M. bovis is increasing. The most significant increase in M. bovis cases is reported from the south west of England, where over 1% of cattle herds are now affected annually.

AShaftofLight

The prisoner walked along the narrow corridor towards the place of execution. Many others had gone before her and the concrete floor was covered in blood, and worse. The floor – a path as terminal as the route taken by a falling star – was slick beneath her feet, and she struggled to keep her balance ... A Shaft of Sunlight

BVA&theIEPsayit'sinhumane

“The BVA have already rightly condemned free-shooting of badgers as inhumane, and free-shooting is now exactly what George Eustice is profferring as a policy, in a desperate attempt to turn the cull around from the tragic mess it has created. Last year, The Government’s own IEP (Independent Expert Panel) came to the conclusion that the cull was inhumane, and were promptly dispatched, an indication in itself of a callous disregard for the suffering of animals.

Experts including Lord Krebs have been warning the Government from the beginning that killing badgers will not make any impact on the problem of Bovine TB in Cattle. But at the moment, flying in the face of all evidence, the Government has announced its intention to continue the slaughter. To cap it all, Wales, where no badgers have been killed, is now showing a significant improvement in bTB incidence in cattle. They achieved this by stronger controls within the cattle farming industry. The public, along with new Conservative MPs, are disappointed with the apparent prioritising of a return to blood sports in the early days of a new administration. It looks as if both fox-hunting and badger culling are becoming toxic issues for this Government.”

WhocarriesBTb?

The following animals have been shown to carry bovine TB.

Deer = 36% positive (includes farmed, wild and park deer)

Cat = 25% positive

Dog = 27% positive

Pig = 19% positive

Alpaca = 56% positive

Llama = 0%

Sheep = 44% positive

Goat = 0

Ferret (!) = 0

Farmed wild boar = 0 (NB: two cases this year confirmed for wild boar and TB, both on TB infected farms

Foxes, Dogs, cats and Rats are also know to carry bTB.

HUMANS have a 1% incidence of TB, skewed to farm workers. An increasing trend is for higher occurrences (live cultural positives) of TB in cats and alpacas.

TransmissionofBTb

Transmission of M. bovis can occur between animals, from animals to humans and vice versa and rarely, between humans. As with M. tuberculosis, transmission is most commonly by the aerosol route but also through the ingestion of milk and meat from infected animals. The link between drinking milk from diseased cows and the development of scrofula, cervical lymph node tuberculosis, was established mid-19th century when more than half of all cervical lymphadenitis cases in children were caused by M. bovis. Infection acquired through ingesting M. bovis is more likely to result in non-pulmonary forms of disease. Pasturisation of milk, immunisation of humans and healthy diet has seen the number of cases reduce dramatically. It should be noted cattle with bTB lesions do routinely enter the food chain.