THERE appears to be a real possibility that the export of young bull calves from dairy herds in the UK to mainland Europe may be banned following the discovery to bovine tuberculosis on 27 farms in the Netherlands.
A dairy herd in England, previously free from TB, has suffered a breakdown and it is believed that calves from this farm are the source of the problem, which was discovered during routine testing.
About 400,000 calves are exported at around te
n days of age from the UK for veal production. These must come from TB-free farms. However, there is no reliable test for TB in animals that are aged under 42 days.
Some Dutch and Belgian importers have already placed a voluntary ban of UK calves, but there are fears that the European Commission may impose a mandatory embargo. Nigel Miller, vice-president of NFU Scotland, said: "This is a very worrying development at a time when Scotland's dairy farmers are achieving £50 to £60 per head for export bull calves.
"We have spoken to Scotland's chief vet to raise our concerns, while our Brussels office is in dialogue with their Dutch counterparts."
In certain parts of the European Union, there is a view that the UK is a reservoir of disease: first BSE in 1996, then the world's largest epidemic of foot-and-mouth in 2001 followed by a smaller outbreak of the same disease last year. The NFUS case will undoubtedly be to argue, should the EC become involved, that any action should be proportionate and not involve a ban on all UK exports of live cattle.
Miller said: "Scotland has worked hard to preserve its excellent record on TB. We already have low-incidence status and, as an industry, we have set further targets to further reduce the handful of TB cases seen here.
"Any suggestion of a European ban on live calves affecting Scotland would be unjustified and unnecessary."
The vast majority of farmers and many leading scientists assert there is a clear link between TB and badgers, which are deemed to be the principal vector of this disease.
The latest forecast is that up to 40,000 cattle in England will be culled during 2008. Only last week Hilary Benn, the secretary of state at Defra (department of the environment, food and rural affairs), ruled out a cull of badgers.
He said that a cull of badgers "could end up making the disease worse if it was not sustained over time or delivered effectively and public opposition, including the unwillingness of some landowners to take part, would render this more difficult".
However, Jeff Rooker, a junior minister at Defra, clearly is of a different opinion. Speaking in the House of Lords he said: "Badger-to-cattle transmission is heavy. It accounts for 70-80 per cent cases."
The full article contains 482 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
