Why Aren't We Vaccinating Cattle?

Why Aren't We Vaccinating Cattle?

Bovine TB – Time for a Rethink

Thanks to Sally for providing this Document and Link.

It is chronic and debilitating, it puts farmers out of business and destroys livelihoods. Are we talking about the disease, or the policy to control it?
Under the current UK policy, cattle are tested at regular intervals for exposure to Bovine TB. Those that fail the test are slaughtered and severe restrictions on cattle movement are placed on the farm. This is the ‘test and cull’ regime. It costs taxpayers £100million a year and has a devastating impact on farmers.
Test and cull requires regular and stressful handling of cattle which compromises both animal welfare and human safety. Compensation does not always cover the value of individual culled animals, and does not cover the consequences of movement restrictions or the loss of critical breeding stock. Even DEFRA describes the diagnostic skin test for Bovine TB as ‘imperfect’ in its ability to correctly identify animals that have been exposed to Bovine TB.
The test and cull policy, we are told, is there to protect human health, animal welfare and to meet our international (EU) commitments. Is it worth the cost?
Human Health: In the UK, human infection with the bacterium responsible for Bovine TB (Mycobacterium bovis) is almost non-existent because milk is pasteurised milk and meat is cooked. So negligible is the risk that cattle slaughtered under the test and cull policy, and those found at abattoirs to be infected, are sold for human consumption. Most of the very few cases of Bovine TB in humans were initially contracted in other countries or before the pasteurisation of milk became the norm.
Animal Health: Infected cattle have little probability of developing the disease and seldom show symptoms during their (often short) economic lives. Bovine TB can remain dormant in an animal for many years or indefinitely. If an animal reacts to the skin test this does not mean that it will go on to develop symptoms, be infectious, or become ill. There are other diseases of cattle that pose a more serious risk to human and animal health yet are not even notifiable. Many are simply vaccinated against.
International Commitments: UK policy is ultimately driven by the EU which requires member states to eradicate Bovine TB. It lays down the means to be used, and does not allow cattle vaccination. Since the BSE ban was lifted, the annual value of live cattle exports from the UK has never exceeded £3.3million.
What is devastating about Bovine TB is not the disease.
It is the test and cull policy.
As the Bovine TB Advisory Group concluded in its final report to Defra:
“Bovine TB has been a difficult and demanding problem for many years. There are reasons for believing that it can be controlled and finally eradicated but this will require a long-term commitment by all stakeholders and take at least 20 years.”
Can we afford the cost, and will farmers tolerate another 20 years of movement restrictions, inaccurate testing and compulsory cattle culling?
It has been pointed out that other countries with so-called wildlife reservoirs have achieved OTF status (Officially TB-free). However, they have done this by using the skin test as it was designed - as a herd test. If one animal fails the test, the whole herd is slaughtered and restocking is delayed. Officially TB-free status does not mean the disease has been eradicated, just that it has reached a low level – less than 0.5% of herds having breakdowns over a 5 year period. Even Officially TB-free countries have Bovine TB.
Would it not make sense to vaccinate cattle?
Vaccines can be used for two complementary purposes - to protect individuals or to protect populations. No vaccine provides complete immunity to individuals, just a measure of protection. If enough animals are vaccinated with a typical vaccine it is near impossible for an epidemic to occur – this is the principle of herd immunity.
According to DEFRA, a cattle vaccine against Bovine TB will be licensed this year (2012). However, current EU laws do not allow vaccination against Bovine TB. This is because BCG vaccination of cattle can interfere with the skin test, which is the recognised primary test for Bovine TB.
Defra state that they are working with the EU to change EU legislation on cattle vaccination, and on the use of the DIVA test which can differentiate between a vaccinated and an infected animal. They are working towards having the test certified for use at the end of 2012.
It is imperative that the obstacles to vaccinating cattle
against Bovine TB are removed as quickly as possible.
An EU derogation could be obtained to allow the UK to introduce a programme of cattle vaccination against
Bovine TB without further delay.
Contact your MP, MEP, and your Farming Union and ask that they make the vaccination of cattle against Bovine TB in the UK a priority.

More on bTB here: http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/

Rob

bTB - Badgers and the Cull!

During the month of November 2010 I contacted my local MP, Mr. Mark Harper on the issue of bTB and my concerns regarding the proposed badger cull.
It took a while, but I finally received a reply. Not from my local MP, but from MP Jim Paice "Minister of State for Agriculture and Food."
He did have an answer for everything I threw at him, but he failed to "directly" answer many of my questions and concerns.
Maybe he thought I would lose interest and he could shut me up with a 6 page reply.
Wrong!
You can read the 6 page reply at the end of this post.
_________________________________________

Sadly the cull has now been given the green light in Gloucestershire and this is very disappointing as there is an alternative.
A vaccine is available, it has been trialed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and it works, yet our Government is not interested in investing in a vaccination; instead they have invested in a trial cull, which will see free running badgers shot at night. Not all of these animals will be carrying bTB, so this means lots of healthy badgers "will" inevitably be shot!
For them to be able to establish if this trial cull works, they will need to eradicate all badgers from the chosen area and to make matters worse, the reason it has been labeled a trial cull is because they are not sure if shooting free running badgers is the most humane way to do it!
If you have researched bTB you will know that the bTB bacteria can lye undetected in the soil for nearly two years! Click Here
If they persist with their proposed cull, killing all the badgers in the designated areas will not solve the problem as the areas will also have to be sealed off while being cleaned and disinfected. Is this going to be possible on small holdings and at farms, which have large herds?
Also, how are they going to stop other badgers from taking up this new territory after they have eradicated all the badgers? After all that's what all animals do; search out new territory!
The shooting of just one badger at night could cause the entire colony to flee the sett in search of safer ground. What if any, or all of these badgers are infected with bTB! I don't have to spell out what would happen then, do I?

Some of the other concerns I raised were...
Routine testing
Pre-movement testing
Movement restrictions
Gamma testing
Removal of infected animals
Control methods in place for the movement of infected animals

Here is my reply from MP Jim Paice, dated 8th February 2011.
CLICK PAGES FOR ENLARGED VIEW









I will leave you with this....

DEFRA has invested over £16 million in badger TB vaccine Research and Development since 1994/95. So why is it that the badger cull vaccine deployment fund is only £250,000?

And....

Where did bTB come from? Was it the badgers who transmitted this disease to cattle, or did the cattle transmit it to the badgers?
It has been widely documented that typical farm conditions harbour bTB. Lets face it, the vast majority of cattle on our farms have to stand in their own urine and feaces, in damp, dingy, humid sheds and barns. These conditions are ideal for the bTB bacteria to survive!

Visit Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust for more information on the vaccine HERE

Please CLICK HERE to add your support for the badger.




Rob

Asda Response

Thanks for your comments below on the bTB issue. I contacted Asda's CEO and this was their reply.


Dear Robin

Thanks for taking the time to contact Andy Clarke about the proposed badger cull. As part of Andy's Executive Relations Team, I'm available to respond to customer's on his behalf.

Please be assured, Asda are not in favour of the government plans to address bovine TB, contrary to the rumours circulating on the internet.

We're aware of the debate and acknowledge the genuinely held beliefs on both sides of the argument. However, we have never taken a view on this, and we can't see this changing in the future.

Thanks again for contacting us, if there is anything else I can help with, please let me know.


Kind regards

Roselyn Walker
Executive Relations Team

Asda Support Badger Cull!

The ignorance from this man is astounding and it is blatantly obvious that he is acting on commands passed down to him from senior management. It is also obvious that he has no understanding of bTB in the UK today.
What makes it even more absurd is that this statement has been issued before an accurate public response to the badger cull has been announced.
This could and probably will backfire on Asda, but one thing is for sure - they will carry the label as a supermarket that holds its profits in higher regard, than our wildlife!


A Email below from Adam Bagnall, ASDA Service Team.


Thank you for taking the time to email Asda about dairy UK Position on Bovine TB July 2011.

Healthy dairy cows and a healthy badger population is the goal in seeking to eradicate bovine TB through the implementation of a carefully managed science-led programme of badger control.

Bovine TB is one of the most serious problems facing the dairy industry at present. It continues to spread throughout England and Wales, resulting in the slaughter of tens of thousands of dairy cows every year and inflicting severe damage on the financial and emotional well-being of many hundreds of dairy farmers and the rural communities they are part of.

Urgent and effective action needs to be taken to address this disease, which impacts on the health and welfare of wild and farmed animals alike. As such we fully support the Government's decision to implement a science based approach to tackling Bovine TB.

Thank you once again for taking the time to email Asda and If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know.

Kind regards

Adam Bagnall
ASDA Service Team

Badger Cull!

The Government is consulting until 8 December 2010 on a policy to control bovine TB (bTB) based on licensing the culling of badgers in specific areas in England. Gloucestershire is one of the counties where the incidence of bovine TB in cattle is particularly high.
Please help oppose the proposed badger cull.

CLICK HERE

Rob