Badgers and Cattle Culls

[mammalrecorder]

I do NOT want to start an emotionally charged debate merely outline three statistics from 2008 (the last year for which they are available).

1) 36,322 the number of cattle culled as a result of positive bTB tests

2) 125,455 the number of cattle culled as a result of mastitis

3) 175,637 the number of cattle culled as a result of infertility.

They give some idea of the nature of the problem.

Andy

[The Woodman]

Are these UK figures?

[mammalrecorder]

Yes they are the UK figures.

[Malcolm Banks]

Originally Posted by mammalrecorder

They give some idea of the nature of the problem. Andy

..yes they do, but to be fair you also need to consider the reproduction ratio (R0 – a function of how the disease spreads), the difficulty in treating and the zoonotic disease risks of bTB compared to the other reaons for culling.
M

[earthdragon64]

I hate to be picky, but are these figures for the whole of the UK, or for England and Wales only?

Regards, Audrey.

[mammalrecorder]

England and Wales. There is no bTB in Scotland. A status achieved without culling.

[earthdragon64]

Originally Posted by mammalrecorder

England and Wales. There is no bTB in Scotland. A status achieved without culling.

Thanks for clearing that up, obviously if your figures included Scotland then your bTB figure would have been artificially low assuming that the %ages of cattle culled for mastitis and infertility are broadly similar across Scotland, England and Wales.

TB is not present in Scottish badgers, precisely because it isn't present in Scottish cattle, therefore there has never been any question of a cull here. bTB free status has been achieved mainly by the restriction of movement of cattle coming in from outside Scotland until tested as bTB free.

Regards, Audrey.

[mammalrecorder]

Absolutely Audrey. Interesteringly bTB moved much further north in England after the restocking post the last FMD outbreak.

The b in bTB stands for bovine not badger. Although badgers can be infected by cattle so can other mammals (rabbits, rats, cats, dogs etc) so farm biosecurity is vital unless we plan to cull all non cattle mammals on farms. There is still a big problem south of the border with some farmers being reluctant to have their herds tested. Mycobaterium bovis like most forms of TB does not thrive well in fresh air but loves enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces perhaps some changes in herd management might help reduce this terrible disease.

[GavinWheeler]

This chart gives a good visual comparison of the level of various causes of death

[JoulesH]

Yes, but as a dairy farmer may I point out that cattle are going to be culled for something!! If you leave them to drop down dead then you are going to be running into a welfare problem before they pop their clogs and you are also going to have to dispose of them - and in some parts of the country that can be very expensive! Much better and kinder to them to let them go whilst they are reasonably fit and you can at least get a bit of money for them. An average dairy farm will look to replace approx 20% of their herd each year, and in selecting the ones to cull then yes the major reasons are mastitis, infertility and then lameness. An 'infertile' cow is not necessarily not able to breed, just not easy to get in calf on an annual basis and on the impossibly tight margins that dairy farmers have to work to then she has to go; same with mastitis - she may be fine most of the time but flare up every now and again; this may or may not present as a welfare issue, some mastitis is subclinical ie no visible symptoms, just raised somatic cell counts in the milk. However, your dairy penalises you for high SCC milk and there is also the probability that she will spread it to other cows. All of these animals will be expensive to keep and may have compromised welfare, but some of them will have led long lives - some of our cows are on their 10th or 11th calf but will go this year. You will, in most cases, have also worked with your vet to treat these cows - 'done your best by them'. All the time, farmers are trying to improve management of these 3 big issues but it's a bit like trying to eradicate cancer, strokes and heart disease in humans. What is so difficult for farmers to accept is that TB culls can take the young as well as the old, the otherwise healthy as well as cows that might be a bit below par. You also have no choice in the cull decision and no veterinary intervention is possible. One day you have a herd of cattle that you are proud of and then out of the blue you might be saying goodbye to a % of your herd, some of which might be heavy in calf, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.