TB Testing

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:35 pm

Steph Is there not a TB vacc for your cattle??

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:27 am

Hello Denise,

We are NOT allowed to vaccinate cows here - stupid isn't it, although they are starting to vaccinate a few badgers.

Part of the cause of the problem in my humble opinion is that the disease is labelled bovine TB and so it is the fault of the cow. If it were called badger TB maybe townsfolk/ non farming people would see it differently. Another way of getting thier attention might be to show footage of badgers dying of TB. I don't think it occurs to town dwellers that they die of it. They all die of it that get it and that is lots of them and it is a horrible drawn out death! However they are hardly likely to flag down a passing walker to watch thier pain!!! In fact the most likely outcome is they get right into the bottom of the set in the dark and die slowly and painfully and where they can infect the rest of the family and any friends that come by!

From what I have heard if you keep your cattle on an island that has no badgers you don't get TB in your cattle, now as farmers bring cattle to these islands from mainland UK that is interesting isn't it - you can see why I think it should be called BADGER TB - shouldn't it!?

Now if anything I have ranted above is totally wrong that would be great to hear - so please don't be afraid to correct me anyone.

Stephanie

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:05 pm

I think that if you vaccinate then you then can't test for TB, at least with the current test. That's what I read.

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:48 pm

umm ok - radical suggestion - get a badger that has TB and film its dying and PUT IT ON utube?????
nah that may be too much of a risk to your stock - get a 3rd party who doesnt have cattle to do it.

umm get video from a vet surgery (by stealth) of an infected badger and utube it ?????

Wonderful what utube will do .....

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:49 pm

Oops Hi Steph and Clive!

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:09 pm

Yes Clive I had been given the excuse that if we vaccinate we can't then test the animals for TB but they vaccinate them in Austrailia and if it is OK over there, then why not here. It would be a whole lot easier to vaccinate a known population of cattle than an unknown population of badgers and at least we know that most of the cattle don't actually have the disease - whereas many of the badgers - so it seems already do and so the vaccine won't work on them.

Stephanie

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:32 pm

What I think they did in Australia and every other country that has eradicated TB is cull ALL animals with TB, livestock and wildlife. What we are doing is just culling the one side then wondering why the disease is still around !!! It's quite bizarre.

tooloos · Post by **tooloos** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:59 pm

i think i read somewhere there if we start vaccinating the cattle then it closes down the export market which is why they are trying to vaccinate the badgers and not the cattle

Colin · Post by **Colin** » Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:24 pm

Couple of interesting articles. This one on the reliability of the skin test, which does raise some serious doubts:

http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=26

and this one on why a vaccine isn't being used:

http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=10

Regards,

Colin

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 3:34 am

No, we don't vaccinate for TB because we don't have it anymore. I remember the outcry from some groups against aerial slaughtering herds of feral vector species, water buffalo, banteng, pigs. Do camels get TB? I can't remember them shooting camels but suppose they did, or maybe they weren't in high risk zones.

Minnie · Post by **Minnie** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:17 am

We are soooo lucky, that's for sure. But you never know for how long, seems 'Fair Trade' may cause issues with different diseases we've never had, always seems to be some complaint about our strict quarantine but I think we need to keep it as such.

We don't have rabies either, imagine that in our wildlife population... everyone would want to slaughter anything that moves.

???
Vicki

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 8:53 am

Oh well - I was convinced I had been told that TB could be vaccinated against in Australia, I appear to have got my facts wrong. The slaughtering of the species carrying the TB sounds a good idea!

Stephanie

Edited By Saffy on 1285055713

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:34 am

Bovine TB is always goign to be an emotive subject. I try to be objective about the subject but so much of the information out there is biased to one camp or the other.

Colin I am afraid I find the www.bovinetb.co.uk site about as objective as the Badger Trust one!

In my mind what is clear is the policies put in place to date are tantamount to doing nothing and I don't hold out much hope for the current government's proposals. Can you really see 70% of landowners in a 150 square mile area all agreeing to a cull and sharing the costs?

As Clive has already stated there needs to be a comprehensive policy which covers all possible vector species.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 7:06 pm

Today I have been talking to a retired farmer. He tells me that many years ago his herd got TB for the first time, he was told it was because he had bought in cattle but he thought it might be the badgers which had a couple of setts on the farm. He had the lot killed, including the young, there were 16 animals in total - he had them tested - 14 had TB. That is BAD odds. He didn't get TB in his herd again.

The badgers came back and he wasn't allowed to cull them but he tells me he did shove the pipe from the slurry tanker down the sett once or twice and give it a good dose of slurry to make them feel less at home!

He has been retired many years now but says
the bloke that has his farm now says it is overrun with badgers.

Stephanie

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 6:42 pm

Well we have just had our TB test read and I am delighted to say - all clear, no lumps or bumps.

What a relief!

Stephanie