WIREDGOV

A key aim of the £27m Welsh Assembly Government programme of bovine TB eradication is to amend the current system to ensure a fair deal for herd owners and taxpayers by linking compensation arrangements with the encouragement of farmers to comply with best practice requirements.

Bovine TB in Wales has increased substantially in the current financial year- and the compensation paid by the taxpayer has followed. From April 2008 to 13th January, 2009, expenditure on TB compensation in Wales was over £17,734,564, compared with £11,185,340 in the same period the previous year – an increase of 59 per cent.
           
A consultation paper published today considers the responsibilities of herd owners and the principles of compensation, and, in particular, how these principles can both encourage positive on-farm actions and help to modify behaviour to prevent the reintroduction of the disease into herds in Wales.

Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Rural Affairs, Elin Jones said:

The consultation I am publishing today seeks to provide a fair system for both taxpayers and herd owners.

It puts forward a number of options relating to areas such as overdue testing, the linking of compensation payments to good practice, biosecurity and risk management.

The Welsh Assembly Government is currently obliged to pay compensation for cattle removed as part of TB eradication activities in Wales, irrespective of herd owners’ actions, which can have both positive and negative impact on disease control.

I have said all along that action by government alone will not eradicate bovine TB. The role of the farming industry is crucial. Only through working in partnership over a sustained period will we have an impact on reducing the incidence of the disease.

Related Links

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/farmingandcountryside/?lang=en