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Farmerbreaks silence over TB
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| WE HAVE SUFFERED IN SILENCE: Farmer Simon Banfield |
A FARMER has broken the silence over devastation he says is being caused to Dorset livestock by bovine tuberculosis (TB).
Beef and dairy farmer Simon Banfield says people holding cattle have been too afraid to speak out before because of fears consumers would stop buying dairy products.
But today he said: "We have been suffering in silence for too long."
Mr Banfield, who keeps dairy and beef livestock at farms in Puddletown and Bockhampton, said: "Farmers have always been hesitant about talking about this too much because we don't want to start up any worries over dairy products.
"But I am concerned about the welfare of cattle and of dairy farmers who are suffering in silence with an infection that is sweeping across the county."
Mr Banfield, who said Dorset has always had a low rate of bovine TB, has seen the disease re-appear at his isolated farms after 60 years.
Several animals have had to be culled and, along with neighbouring farms, he now has to test cattle for the illness every six months.
He said: "It's quite obvious that we are losing our cattle but no one is tackling the issue.
"The country is desperately short of milk at the moment and I think bovine TB is part of the jigsaw.
"There will be a knock-on effect on consumers."
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says bovine TB is one of the biggest problems facing British farmers. It is thought the disease is spread between herds by wild animals such as badgers.
According to its figures the disease affects five per cent of all herds - but Mr Banfield predicted that figure would be much higher for Dorset.
He said: "There needs to be a debate about what we are going to do, we certainly need to tackle wildlife reservoirs spreading it."
Farmers across Dorset have already been paid £680,425 in compensation from Defra so far this year, with 81 new incidents on previous years.
West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin said: "I have never had a meeting with any West Dorset farmer over the last nine years without this topic coming up.
"It is still a really serious problem which is not getting any better. Farmers are suffering very very heavily.
"The Government claims there have been signs of improvement but there is still no sign that ministers are prepared to take the action that is needed to address it."
8:38am Thursday 23rd August 2007
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CommentPosted by: Steve Claxton, Blandford on 9:47am Thu 23 Aug 07
Why do people always blame badgers when all the scientific evidence states that most Bovine TB is spread by poor farming practices? Please try and report facts rather than farming folklore.
Why do people always blame badgers when all the scientific evidence states that most Bovine TB is spread by poor farming practices? Please try and report facts rather than farming folklore.
Posted by: Some facts. on 10:43am Thu 23 Aug 07
[quote][bold]Steve Claxton[/bold] wrote:
Why do people always blame badgers when all the scientific evidence states that most Bovine TB is spread by poor farming practices? Please try and report facts rather than farming folklore.[/quote] Whether the evidence is inconclusive or not, it is rather more than mere folklore, notwithstanding the report above merely states that [quote](Defra) says bovine TB is one of the biggest problems facing British farmers. It is thought the disease is spread between herds by wild animals such as badgers.
[/quote]
The Executive Summary of the report complied in 1997 by the Scientific Review Committee on behalf of Defra concluded:
[quote]The sum of evidence strongly supports the view that, in Britain, badgers are a significant source of infection in cattle. Most of this evidence is indirect, consisting of correlations rather than demonstrations of cause and effect; but in total the available evidence, including the effects of completely removing badgers from certain areas, is compelling.
It is not, however, possible to state quantitatively what contribution badgers make to cattle infection, because the relevant data have not been collected and analysed. Collection of the relevant data, statistical analysis and the use of modern molecular techniques could resolve this question and we recommend that these should be high priorities for MAFF. Other wildlife species also carry the disease, and the possibility of some contribution from these species cannot be ignored.
[/quote]
Steve Claxton wrote:
Why do people always blame badgers when all the scientific evidence states that most Bovine TB is spread by poor farming practices? Please try and report facts rather than farming folklore.
Whether the evidence is inconclusive or not, it is rather more than mere folklore, notwithstanding the report above merely states that
(Defra) says bovine TB is one of the biggest problems facing British farmers. It is thought the disease is spread between herds by wild animals such as badgers.
The Executive Summary of the report complied in 1997 by the Scientific Review Committee on behalf of Defra concluded:
The sum of evidence strongly supports the view that, in Britain, badgers are a significant source of infection in cattle. Most of this evidence is indirect, consisting of correlations rather than demonstrations of cause and effect; but in total the available evidence, including the effects of completely removing badgers from certain areas, is compelling.
It is not, however, possible to state quantitatively what contribution badgers make to cattle infection, because the relevant data have not been collected and analysed. Collection of the relevant data, statistical analysis and the use of modern molecular techniques could resolve this question and we recommend that these should be high priorities for MAFF. Other wildlife species also carry the disease, and the possibility of some contribution from these species cannot be ignored.
Posted by: James Young, Dorchester on 2:24pm Thu 23 Aug 07
Vaccination ? We seem to be able to tag seals, seagulls, etc - surely a vaccination programme would be as effective as a cull ?
On another note, isn't it about time this government started supporting our farmers rather than devastating the industry through allowing free trade of often poorer quality products from abroad ? We are an island nation, you would think self-sufficiency would be deemed to be in the national interest.
Vaccination ? We seem to be able to tag seals, seagulls, etc - surely a vaccination programme would be as effective as a cull ?
On another note, isn't it about time this government started supporting our farmers rather than devastating the industry through allowing free trade of often poorer quality products from abroad ? We are an island nation, you would think self-sufficiency would be deemed to be in the national interest.
Posted by: More form the Defra Executive Summary on 3:15pm Thu 23 Aug 07
[quote]In the long run, the best prospect for control of bovine TB is to develop a vaccine for cattle. This is a long-term (more than ten years) strategy and success cannot be guaranteed. However, targets and milestones can be identified to monitor and evaluate progress at five yearly intervals. We recommend that the development of a cattle vaccine and an associated diagnostic test to distinguish infected from vaccinated cattle should be a high priority for MAFF’s long-term research strategy.
A badger vaccine, although posing greater technical problems in terms of both development and delivery, should also be kept as an option. During the next five years much of the basic research required will be relevant to both badgers and cattle.
Proper co-ordination of the research will be essential. In developing its research strategy MAFF should take into account work on human TB including genome sequencing, and work on animal vaccines and diagnostics in other countries. Industrial involvement should also be explored.
[/quote]
In the long run, the best prospect for control of bovine TB is to develop a vaccine for cattle. This is a long-term (more than ten years) strategy and success cannot be guaranteed. However, targets and milestones can be identified to monitor and evaluate progress at five yearly intervals. We recommend that the development of a cattle vaccine and an associated diagnostic test to distinguish infected from vaccinated cattle should be a high priority for MAFF’s long-term research strategy.
A badger vaccine, although posing greater technical problems in terms of both development and delivery, should also be kept as an option. During the next five years much of the basic research required will be relevant to both badgers and cattle.
Proper co-ordination of the research will be essential. In developing its research strategy MAFF should take into account work on human TB including genome sequencing, and work on animal vaccines and diagnostics in other countries. Industrial involvement should also be explored.
Posted by: Merely an island by physical geography on 3:35pm Thu 23 Aug 07
[quote]We are an island nation, you would think self-sufficiency would be deemed to be in the national interest.[/quote]
Autarky isn't doing North Korea much anymore than it did Spain under Franco, the Soviet Union under Stalin or Italy under Mussolini.
We are an island nation, you would think self-sufficiency would be deemed to be in the national interest.
Autarky isn't doing North Korea much anymore than it did Spain under Franco, the Soviet Union under Stalin or Italy under Mussolini.
Posted by: James Young, Dorchester on 8:33pm Thu 23 Aug 07
[quote][bold]Merely an island by physical geography[/bold] wrote:
[quote]We are an island nation, you would think self-sufficiency would be deemed to be in the national interest.[/quote]
Autarky isn't doing North Korea much anymore than it did Spain under Franco, the Soviet Union under Stalin or Italy under Mussolini.[/quote] Let's not do the Labour trick of muddling words. I'm not suggesting that we should be a closed economy, i am merely suggesting that we should be more supportive of our own. It's only 60 years since this island was blockaded and whilst it seems incomprehensible that it could happen again, people in 1920s Britain felt much the same way.
I've no problem with globalisation, but i do think that areas of national interest should be protected.
The French under Sarkozy, Germans under Merkel and others do the same
Merely an island by physical geography wrote:
We are an island nation, you would think self-sufficiency would be deemed to be in the national interest.
Autarky isn't doing North Korea much anymore than it did Spain under Franco, the Soviet Union under Stalin or Italy under Mussolini.
Let's not do the Labour trick of muddling words. I'm not suggesting that we should be a closed economy, i am merely suggesting that we should be more supportive of our own. It's only 60 years since this island was blockaded and whilst it seems incomprehensible that it could happen again, people in 1920s Britain felt much the same way.
I've no problem with globalisation, but i do think that areas of national interest should be protected.
The French under Sarkozy, Germans under Merkel and others do the same
Posted by: Merely an island by physical geography on 10:34pm Thu 23 Aug 07
Appreciate you dispensing with the 'Labour trick' to explain just what you did mean.
Appreciate you dispensing with the 'Labour trick' to explain just what you did mean.
Posted by: cornwallbadgers, Cornwall on 9:06am Fri 24 Aug 07
Under the title 'some facts', there is a quote from a report published in 1997.
The world has moved on!!
In June [bold]this year[/bold] , after nearly a decade’s work and £millions of taxpayers' money, the final Report of the Independent Scientiic Group on Cattle
TB was published.
The conclusion?
[bold]
"After careful consideration of all the RBCT and other data presented in this report, including an economic assessment, we conclude that badger culling cannot meaningfully contribute to the future control of cattle TB in Britain."[/bold]
The report also states: [bold]"It is unfortunate that agricultural and veterinary leaders continue to believe, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary,
that the main approach to cattle TB control must involve some form of badger population
control. It is our hope that Defra will embrace new scientific findings, and communicate
these to stakeholders in ways that encourage acceptance and participation."[/bold]
The full 287 page report is available at the DEFRA website.
Under the title 'some facts', there is a quote from a report published in 1997.
The world has moved on!!
In June
this year , after nearly a decade’s work and £millions of taxpayers' money, the final Report of the Independent Scientiic Group on Cattle
TB was published.
The conclusion?
"After careful consideration of all the RBCT and other data presented in this report, including an economic assessment, we conclude that badger culling cannot meaningfully contribute to the future control of cattle TB in Britain."
The report also states:
"It is unfortunate that agricultural and veterinary leaders continue to believe, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary,
that the main approach to cattle TB control must involve some form of badger population
control. It is our hope that Defra will embrace new scientific findings, and communicate
these to stakeholders in ways that encourage acceptance and participation."
The full 287 page report is available at the DEFRA website.
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