Plan to wipe out BVD 'too slow on culling'

EARLIER this week, the Scottish Government announced its plan for eradicating bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) from this country, however the National Beef Association has criticised part of their proposals.

The plan concentrates initially on identifying the scale of the disease and only in the later stages moves towards the culling of those persistently infected (PI) cattle that transmit the disease.

Objecting to this, NBA Scotland chairman Hamish McBean compared the retention of persistently infected cattle on farm with someone volunteering to nurse a plague virus.

"The best place for them is the abattoir, and the quicker they take this one-way journey the better. They can be isolated and fed to put on weight before being put on the wagon, but on no account should they be sold to another farmer, because that completely defeats the drive behind this national eradication exercise."

McBean stressed that in all other aspects of the government plan, the NBA was supportive.

In fact it hoped that the entire cattle industry, including veterinary practices and farmers, showed enthusiasm for the national effort.

"BVD sits like an economic blight on our industry. It is one of the primary causes of cow infertility, which in turn is the biggest single cause of poor herd performance, and everyone in the industry will benefit if it is eradicated," said McBean.

Initially the NBA wants all cattle producers to take advantage of the voluntary screening programme that will take place over the next 12 months. But if at that stage they discover they have a persistently infected animal, to immediately isolate it and then dispatch it for slaughter.

"Some owners may think that a PI can be safely put through the cull cow ring at auction, but even then there is a chance she could be picked up by another farmer and unknowingly be given a chance to spread her expensive virus elsewhere," McBean explained.