NFU: Call for Patience over Bovine TB Decision

UK - The UK government has promised to take a careful and measured decision over action to eradicate bovine TB, writes TheCattleSite Editor in Chief, Chris Harris.
calendar icon 16 February 2011
clock icon 2 minute read

Agriculture secretary Carline Spelman asked farmers at the National Farmers Union conference in Birmingham to be patient while the government and experts examined all the science available, before making a decision on what action to take.

Mrs Spelman said: "It's a devastating disease that must be eradicated.

"We are determined to get this right, so we need to follow the process very carefully."

She said that when the government does make a decision on what action needs to be taken it will have to be sure to communicate the reasons for the decision carefully to both the public and the farming community.

She said that the experience in Wales where one error created a "hiatus" meant that the government had to examine every piece of data before coming to a decision.

"Ministers are giving it 100 per cent and we have got to get it absolutely right," she said.

"We have to have the process right."

In his speech to the conference, the NFU President Peter Kendall welcomed the action being taken by DEFRA on Bovine TB.

"Most significantly for our dairy and beef sector, you're tackling the ghastly scourge of bovine TB that's led to so much needless distress and waste over many years," he said.

"We understand and know it will be a long battle and that any action to eradicate the disease in wildlife is far from an easy option."

TheCattleSite News Desk

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.