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Welsh government reveals Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board
The new Board will draw on its members practical experiences with TB outbreaks.
The group will have its first meeting in December.

The Welsh government has revealed the members of its new Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board, which will provide strategic advice to government officials.

The board, consisting of veterinary surgeons, farmers and other representatives, will meet quarterly. Its first meeting will be in December.

The Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board will draw on its members’ practical experiences with TB outbreaks and restrictions. Alongside the government’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG), it will inform how the government targets the eradication of bovine TB in Wales.

Sharon Hammond, a beef, sheep and poultry farmer in mid Wales, is to chair the board. Ms Hammond has been a member of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Cymru TB Focus Group since it began and was previously a member of the 2022 TB Task and Finish Group.

Ms Hammond also has over 30 years experience as a school governor, which saw her chair four governing bodies.

The board’s members include dairy farmer Roger Lewis, who was a representative of the delivery board of the Pembrokeshire Project. He also chaired the NFU Cymru TB Focus Group, and has been a member of the GB Calf Strategy bovine TB subgroup and the Defra bovine TB Cattle Vaccine Central Core Group.

Evan Roberts, a dairy farmer, was chair of the North Wales Regional TB Eradication Board for four years. He was also Clwyd County Chair for NFU Cymru and was involved in the Welsh Government Task and Finish Group on bovine TB.

Also a member of the new Board is Sian Evans, who practised as a veterinary surgeon and now audits official veterinarians and approved tuberculin testers as they conduct on-farm TB testing.

Philip Thomas will represent the British Veterinary Association Wales branch. The board will also include representatives from the Farmers’ Union of Wales and the NFU Cymru.

There will be three ex-officio members: the chief veterinary officer for Wales, the head of Welsh Government Bovine TB Policy and a representative of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The work of the Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board and TAG forms part of the Welsh government’s initiative to bring veterinary surgeons, farmers and other experts together to eradicate bovine TB in Wales by 2041.

In 2025, both groups will analyse the TB six-year milestone target review.

Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy First Minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, said: “Partnership working is at the heart of the Bovine TB Eradication Programme here in Wales.

“I am pleased to see farmers and both farming unions at the heart of this new Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board, and the governance arrangements we have committed to – and are now in place.”

Image © Welsh government

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.