Bovine TB has been a scourge on Welsh agriculture for well over a decade, and successive Labour governments here in Wales have failed to get to grips with the disease. Wales is currently the worst affected part of the UK and is lagging behind England in bringing down the number of animals being slaughtered due to the disease. Furthermore, the highest rates of the disease in England are found on the border with Wales. Central to the failure of Labour is their unwillingness to use all tools available to them, coupled with their ignorance of clear science and data.
The damage of the disease goes beyond endangering the lives of cattle – it has serious implications for the financial stability, mental health and wellbeing of our farmers. It also undermines our vital Welsh food production and wider economy.
My colleague Samuel Kurtz MS, in his capacity as Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, long campaigned for the need to review the policy, for example on in-calf cattle slaughter, and I am pleased that his calls are beginning to be listened to. However, the Minister’s reluctance to tackle the matter herself is just the latest of examples demonstrating the clear lack of drive from this Welsh Government to deal with the disease head-on.
Moreover, Plaid Cymru have failed to stand up for farmers under the Co-operation Agreement with Labour – despite their warm words, they have allowed this Welsh Government to place our farmers low on the list of priorities.
Welsh Conservatives believe that a wholistic approach to defeating the disease is required, working in partnership with farmers and vets to eradicate the reservoir of infection within herds, eliminate inter-herd transmission and the targeted removal of infected wildlife, who themselves suffer a painful death due to TB. Only by working together and wholistically can this dreadful disease be defeated.
I thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
