Outbreak of bovine TB confirmed
An outbreak of Bovine TB has been confirmed in a herd of cattle in Skye. The croft is under restriction while tests take place
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The source of the infection is under investigation.”
Scotland has been “Tbfree” since 2009 but there are still cases. The designation requires less than 0.1 percentofherdstohavethe condition over six years.
The farming community was yesterday sharing the anguish of a Skye cattle-keeper who has seen animals slaughtered after a routine test identified infections with bovine TB.
But a spokesperson for the Scottish Government said that the incident was one of the low number of outbreaks which occurred periodically in Scotland.
While the farmer at the centre of the outbreak did not wish to speak personally, he released a statement through NFU Scotland.
“This is an extremely worrying and very difficult time for me,” he said.
“The cattle that tested positive on the farm have been slaughtered and further laboratory tests are now under way to see if they have TB.
“Waiting for those results is very stressful but I want to get to the bottom of this, get my herd restrictions lifted and get my Tb-free status back as quickly as possible and I will work with the authorities to do that.”
A spokesperson for NFU Scotland added: “This is clearly a terrible time for our member. We are working with him and the authorities to ensure he gets the support and advice needed to help him get free of current herd restrictions.
The union said that, thankfully, such TB cases remained rare on this side of the border.
“Scotland has achieved disease-free status for TB through a combination of routine testing of our herds; abattoir surveillance and pre- and postmovement testing of animals moving into Scotland from high risk TB areas in other parts of the UK.”
The union said that the regime routinely identified a small number of cases in Scotland each year – but the number of cattle affected remained below the one in a thousand herd level which allowed the country to maintain the Tb-free status which it had held since 2009. The number
of new occurrences of bovine TB in Scotland for 2016 was 11, consistent with another year of officially free status. Most cases in Scotland can be traced to movements of infected animals.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said that as was usual in such cases, and to prevent any spread of disease, the herd was currently subject to movement restrictions and would remain so until considered free of disease.
He said that neighbouring herds had been tested and the results had been negative for bovine TB and that further testing of the infected herd was being undertaken and a veterinary investigation into the likely source of infection was under way.
bhenderson@farming.co.uk