Many Scottish herds to be spared trauma of testing for TB

More than a third of Scottish cattle herds deemed as “low risk” will no longer have to test for tuberculosis (TB) every four years, it was announced yesterday by the Scottish Government.

Scotland was granted official TB free (OTF) status by European veterinary authorities two years ago but is still at risk from cattle imported from certain parts of England where TB in cattle is rife.

The UK government has recently announced a trial cull of badgers which are being blamed for the rampant spread of the disease.

All cattle imported into Scotland from England will continue to be subject to pre- and post-movement testing but Scottish vets say the testing programme for herds not regularly importing from south of the Border can be relaxed without placing these herds at risk.

The move is backed by research at Glasgow University into long-term options for the more effective surveillance of TB in Scotland.

Cabinet secretary for rural affairs Richard Lochhead said the move to a more risk-based programme aimed to share the benefits of OTF status with the industry and better target resources in the current economic climate.

“This is the next step towards achieving more effective, targeted TB surveillance across Scotland while protecting our prized OTF status,” he said.

The change will affect herds due to be tested after January 1, 2012. The exemption will apply to “low-risk” herds of fewer than 20 cattle and those where more than 25 per cent of the stock is slaughtered annually, provided no more than one consignment of cattle has been moved on to the farm from a high-risk area in the previous four years. It will also apply to herds where more than 40 per cent of the stock is slaughtered annually.

The new approach will mean significant savings for both the livestock industry and the government. Any disease breakdown will continue to be fully investigated.