Wales - annual BTB testing is key
In vain have people begged Defra - in the person of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson - to look at how Wales has managed to achieve a drop of nearly 50% in the number of cattle slaughtered with not a single badger killed.
Just 6,102 cattle were slaughtered in 2013, down from 9,287 in 2012, following peaks of 11,671 in 2009, and 11,401 in 2008. Annual testing was introduced in 2008, and measures were tightened in 2009.
Speaking at the 6th international conference on BTB which is taking place in Cardiff this week, Wales' Chief Veterinary Officer Christianne Glossop attributed Wales's success to annual testing of cattle. "Our annual testing regime is an essential part of our work to find bovine TB infection quickly", she said.
"We know we can beat TB. Other countries have done it but it is going to be a long haul and this conference, and the opportunity it provides for us to learn from the experiences of others, is another important milestone in our journey towards a TB free Wales."
