§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the action the Government are taking on bovine TB with special reference to the dairy herds in Herefordshire. [18080]
§ Mr. MorleyTB testing has resumed in those counties in England that have foot and mouth disease free status and where resource can be released from foot and mouth disease work. It has restarted in Herefordshire and is being prioritised based on veterinary risk assessment. Extra staff have been allocated to the work but it will take time to clear the backlog and get back to normal patterns of TB testing.
So far testing has not revealed any unusual incidence in the number of TB breakdowns in dairy herds in Herefordshire. However it must be borne in mind that during the last nine months reactors have only been revealed where tests have been carried out as a result of slaughterhouse cases or where LVI practices have managed to do some of the backlog of high priority testing.