Bovine TB: a call for views on potential improvement and simplification of the TB testing regime in the High Risk Area of England

Overview

This call for views is a precursor to possible full consultation on proposals to simplify the TB testing regime in the High Risk Area (HRA) of England.  The Government’s view is that there is potential disease control and practical merit in such simplification but acknowledges that there will be impacts, positive and negative, on some cattle herd owners.  So we want to hear your views, which will influence whether, or not, further work is carried out with a view to formal consultation later in 2017. 

Why your views matter

This call for views has been published in parallel to the latest consultation exercise aimed at introducing sensible, proportionate and affordable TB control measures in cattle.  That consultation includes specific proposals for enhancing the TB eradication strategy through more sensitive testing of cattle from TB breakdown herds, including in the HRA. The consultation can be found at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/bovine-tb/enhancements-to-hra-edge/.

We would urge consultees to read and respond to the consultation and this call for views.  The two documents are not contradictory in that the proposals set out in the sister consultation are measures that the Government is minded to introduce over the coming 12 months, whereas this call for views is merely an invitation to help us to determine whether or not there is merit in developing and analysing further proposals for a simpler and more effective TB testing regime in the HRA – built around a default position of six-monthly routine surveillance testing until disease situation improves in an area or a herd.