Fiona
Bruce MP raises Cheshire Farmers’ concerns in Parliament
Fiona Bruce
raised concerns yesterday about the spread of Bovine TB in the House of Commons
with Ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
In a Parliamentary
Question Fiona Bruce asked two questions and received the following responses:
Q. What
progress the Government are making on delivering their strategy to eradicate
bovine TB?
The Minister of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (George Eustice)
The Government are determined to use all
available measures necessary to eradicate this devastating disease as quickly
as possible. We have continued to make improvements to cattle movement
controls, most recently introducing a requirement for post-movement testing of
cattle travelling from the high-risk to the low-risk area. At the end of last
year, we launched a new project to promote better on-farm biosecurity in order
to reduce cattle-to-badger contact. Finally, we also started a cautious
roll-out of the badger cull to an additional area in Dorset last year, which
was successful.
Fiona Bruce
Q. I thank the Minister
for his reply, but I urge the Government to do all they can to ensure that
bovine TB is checked in Cheshire so that it does not take further hold. It is
the cause of extreme concern to farmers in my constituency.
George Eustice
My hon. Friend makes an important point.
I recognise the specific challenges in parts of the edge area, notably in Cheshire,
and we have therefore introduced much more frequent—six-monthly—testing in
Cheshire to get on top of the disease, which has been a success. We have also
increased the use of the more sensitive interferon gamma blood test as a
supplement to the skin test to ensure that we can remove infected cattle from
herds more quickly.
