Bovine TB hits West Berkshire

Herds in the Lambourn Valley and on Greenham Common are particularly affected but cattle have tested positive to the ‘reactor’ test across the region.
Newbury MP Richard Benyon, who is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “This is very serious and has real implications for stock farming in West Berkshire and also for other wildlife.
“TB is a dreadful disease that can be transmitted to other mammals and even humans. It had been creeping across the country from the high livestock areas in the west and is clearly here now.”
Greenham Common commoner Chris Austin, who grazes more than 40 beef catttle there, said: “The Government has already taken one of mine for slaughter and four more have been found to be infected. I can’t market them until they’re all clear.
“Badger numbers have more than doubled in the past 20 years. It’s heartbreaking to have your cattle destroyed and it’s pointless unless you simultaneously tackle the TB reservoir in wildlife.”
Testing for bovine TB in West Berkshire was previously conducted on a three-yearly basis.
However recent outbreaks across the country prompted Defra to insist on annual tests.
Meanwhile official badger culls are currently taking place in Gloucestershire and Somerset - a move supported by Benyon.
He said: “It’s an emotive subject and I understand people's concerns about a much loved wildlife species. No-one wants to kill badgers, least of all me.
“But to do nothing would be criminal. Twenty-eight thousands cattle were destroyed across the country last year. It also affects other wildlife and farmers, who suffer through increased stress.
Mr Benyon added: “I fear that if we don’s act decisively, bovine TB will destroy stock farming and migrate into other wildlife. It’s also not something we want to see spread to the human population.”
However a spokesman for West Berkshire Council, Keith Ulyatt, said: "Our health officers have said that the current risk posed (by bovine TB) to human health in the UK is considered negligible."