§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the recently diagnosed cases of bovine TB in herds in Denbighshire, Powys and Monmouthshire; and what steps her Department is taking to control further spread of mycobacterium bovis infection. [53204]
§ Mr. MorleyPowys and Monmouthshire have suffered a number of TB incidents in recent years. In the first three months of this year raw data show there were 37 new incidents in Powys, 20 of which are provisionally confirmed as due to bovine TB.
Raw data show that in Monmouthshire some 36 new incidents were disclosed in the first three months of the year, of which 19 are provisionally confirmed as bovine TB.
One new confirmed bovine TB incident was recently disclosed in a herd in Denbighshire. Investigations into the origin of this incident are still ongoing.
The State Veterinary Service in Wales, in close consultation with the Welsh Assembly Government, is working to clear the TB test backlog, to restrict the movement of cattle off herds with suspected TB and to target resources effectively.
The causes of bovine TB are complex and the Government is seeking to proceed on the basis of sound science drawn from independent scientific and veterinary experts. A wide-ranging research programme has been put in place on advice from the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG). The programme extends to the 358W pathogenesis of TB in cattle, improved diagnostic techniques, vaccine development, the badger field trial, risks to cattle from wildlife other than badgers and a study looking at TB in newly formed herds following restocking after foot and mouth disease.