TB test time Again.........................

At 10.00am this morning the ministry vetinary turned out to conduct our 60 day re-test. We are hopeful that all of our cattle will go through alright this time, as the one which did have a reaction was a bought in beast.



True to form the weather was windy, cold and raining. I have to say the vetinary had the cleanest pair of leggings on in the world, but then they must clean them and disinfect them every time they go on to a farm because of bio-security, which is a good thing.



Somehow I ended up with the job of writing down the cattle identifications, and the skin thickness measurements( I had only gone to take photographs!), but I had chance to talk with the lady vet, who was very nice, and was telling her of our decision to no lonnger buy in any animals, especially cattle, because the risk of contamination disease is just too great. Even with the pre-movement testing, the results are just not accurate enougth to risk our herd going down with TB, so in future we will keep pedigree Welsh Black Heifers to replace and increase our own herd, but all other pedegree Welsh black Heifers, which we would usually take to market to sell on as breeding stock will be killed and put through our butchers shop, and that will enable us to have enough beef carcass to prevent us having to buy in a few Welsh Balck Bullocks to put through the Butchery.

I had several chances to have a little chat with the vet, as the men moved different sections of cattle in and out of the yard. I explained that although we have badgers, we thought they must be 'clean' badgers, i.e. TB free and these badgers being territorial keep other, possibly infected badgers, off our land and away from our cattle. The vet agreed, but also told me there are pockets of land where there are cattle, which are away from all other cattle in the middle of nowhere, with no contact with animals (domestic) who suddenly contract TB. She implied that the slaughter of all the cattle which is happening at present is not the way to eradicate TB and a badger cull was inevitable, but it had to be done in a humane and constructive manner.