The veterinary surgeon and the farmer — controlling TB farm by farm
Abstract
In considering how tuberculosis (TB) affects cattle across the UK, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has coordinated with representatives of the farming, veterinary and scientific communities from throughout the UK to bring out a new policy position on bovine TB. In it BVA seeks to draw on the social science of behavioural change, as well as the best available evidence to support each of the recommendations. By advocating strengthening the team of farmer, private veterinary surgeon and government at a single farm unit level, BVA believes that engagement with control and prevention strategies can be improved. Access to local, current data will be a powerful tool in motivating the conversations between veterinary surgeons and farmers on appropriate measures to be taken over and above the statutory minimum on each farm. Increasing knowledge of when and how to apply different testing modalities, as well as government support for their use, will enable ownership of both the disease and its solutions farm by farm.
The Godfray Review into England's 25-year bovine tuberculosis (bTB) strategy came at a great time for the British Veterinary Association (BVA). Our existing bTB position had been developed in 2014 and was largely focused on the then-pressing issue of badger culling. However, it overlooked many of the other complex issues behind the spread of infection. And of course, since then, both the science and the political environment had evolved.
By 2018, when the Review was published, we felt the timing was right to update our position through a comprehensive review of UK-wide TB policies and scientific evidence. We coordinated a working group comprising veterinary practitioners, representatives from BVA specialist divisions including the British Cattle Veterinary Association and the British Veterinary Zoological Association, and experts from the world of government veterinary surgeons and wildlife groups, among others
In updating our position, we recognised a number of things. First, that as a representative body for veterinary surgeons throughout the UK, we wanted to be able to consider how TB in cattle affected all areas of the UK. To this end, a whole day was dedicated to meeting with devolved government representatives, seeing what we could learn from each other, and how we might seek to promote alignment between each jurisdiction.
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