Bison at a major tourist attraction are to be slaughtered following TB outbreak
BISON at a major tourist attraction is to be slaughtered following an outbreak of TB.
Five of the North American beasts at Cattle Country Adventure Park at Berkeley, have tested positive for bovine tuberculosis.
It is the second blow to bison at the attraction which worked hard to get visitor numbers over 100,000 in the aftermath of 2001's foot-and-mouth outbreak.
A herd was built up at Cattle Country over 10 years by owner Tony Cullimore, only for 63 animals, including American bison, African cows and British native breeds, to be wiped out because it was too close to infected farms in 2001.
Now all 30 bison in the new herd have been tested and five have reacted positively to TB.
Under Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rules, all animals which produce an immune response to the test must be slaughtered and remaining uninfected stock should stay where they are.
"We lost everything in 2001 and though it's not as bad as that, it's tough to take," said Mr Cullimore. The infected bison are still at Cattle Country in isolation.
He said they were not near members of the public, to whom the risk of infection was very low.
"We are only the second bison herd in the country to get it, but bison are cattle, so there is no reason why they can't.
"But it's more of a heartbreak when it's bison. They will have to be slaughtered."
They're likely to be slaughtered over the next few days.
Mr Cullimore said three Highland cattle at the attraction also tested positive, which prompted tests on the bison. The Highland cattle will have to be slaughtered and the number of bison lost to the disease comes to six – one died after another knocked it down during the testing process, which bison find particularly stressful.
A bison cow in good condition could be worth up to £1,500 and compensation will be paid but Mr Cullimore cannot move on breeding stock until he gets the all-clear.
Cattle Country is popular with families, featuring a Berkeley Castle adventure playground, animal encounter areas, a play barn, a boating lake, a willow maze, and the UK's largest climbing net.
Gloucestershire's National Farmers Union spokesman Jan Rowe said almost a quarter of the county's herds could not be moved because at least some in the herd had shown a reaction to TB tests.
"The most likely source is badgers, although they won't know for sure until all movements are looked at," said Mr Rowe.
The Labour government would not sanction a badger cull, and the new administration is scaling back badger vaccination trials. Although the programme will see badgers trapped and vaccinated over a 38.6 square mile area near Stroud.
Cattle must provide two clear negative results to the TB reactor skin test 60 days apart before they can be moved. Bovine TB is currently affecting almost a quarter of cattle herds in Gloucestershire.
It means around 300 of the county's 1,250 herds are under movement restrictions.
Defra animal health spokesman Matt Ford said: "We have been working with a livestock owner in relation to a TB outbreak in a herd of bison in southern Gloucestershire."
He and Mr Rowe said the risk to humans was negligible, no more than going for a walk in a field where infected badgers had been.
9 Comments
by mart, chelt
Friday, August 27 2010, 2:36PM
“may i add the cattle is at members of the public reach as u can lean in to stroke them,we went there last week and stroked them,think cattle country need to get there facts right,and what shall we do if we had contact with them !!!!”
by Danny, Gloucetsershire
Friday, August 27 2010, 9:22AM
“For a more fuller picture try the 79 page report.from DEFRA.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/documents/vaccine_cattle.pdf”
by Danny, Gloucestershire
Friday, August 27 2010, 9:21AM
“As Ogoodgrief says the difficulties are with two main challenges:
1) Vaccinated cattle can show a false positive reading when tested for TB which means they cannot be exported or moved.
2) Vaccines are not guaranteed and therefore a vaccinated herd does not acqure disease free status simply from being vaccinated.
While this is an emotive issue because no-one wants to see cattle or badgers slaughtered it is a problem that could have been easily remedied if the various governments in power since the 70s had spent one tenth of what had been spent on the problem simply devising a guaranteed vaccine and then using it on cattle. They have spent hundreds of millions of pounds testing, trialing slaughters, reports etc. I have been advised that a guaranteed vaccine that enabled export could have been created for £10m.”
by Walk-up, Bishops Cleeve
Friday, August 27 2010, 9:12AM
“Most likely caused by poor biosecurity from the large numbers of people at the nearby shoot who walk across many different farms in the pursuit of their hobby to shoot partridge and pheasants. Why they allow this shooting to happen on land owned by Berkeleycastle and then complain when this causes TB I don't know.”
by Ogoodgrief, Fields
Thursday, August 26 2010, 7:51PM
“One of the problems with vaccinating cattle is that as yet there is no safe and reliable vaccine.
In addition, when you vaccinate cattle against TB, they can then show up as positive for TB when tested - so it makes it difficult to identify which cattle are and aren't infected. I think there is still an EU ban on exporting vaccinated cattle.”
by Matt H, Cheltenham
Thursday, August 26 2010, 1:06PM
“Geraint - it would appear (from what Phil E'steign states) that cost is a factor in why cattle aren't routinely immunised/inoculated. Perhaps somebody in the veterinary would can advise?
Re. doing the same for badgers, I guess the major issue is that if you did it, you would need to do them all. If you trap & inoculate (say) 30 badgers in a small area, how can you be sure you've done them all? If you've missed even just one that has the disease, then the local cattle population is still at risk.
It's been an issue for as long as anybody can remember, and will remain so, sadly.”
by geraint, gloucester
Thursday, August 26 2010, 10:54AM
“Would someone out there PLEASE explain to me why cattle are not routinely immunised/inoculated against Bovine TB? And badgers too for that matter.”
by Phil E'steign, Glos
Thursday, August 26 2010, 10:36AM
“It is both tragic and a huge waste of time and money and cattle, that this ludicrous situation has been allowed to continue.
I was told that it is possible to inoculate cattle against TB, but only vets can do it, and they charge the earth!
While I love badgers, the science is divided.
There are badgers in areas with TB free cattle and there are cattle with TB in herds nowhere near badgers. We put a man on the moon forty years ago, yet we can't get to grips with this!
It's almost as though there is no appetite to, and everyone involved is making a few bob, thank you.”
by Phil E'steign, Glos
Thursday, August 26 2010, 10:30AM
“It is both tragic and a huge waste of time and money and cattle, that this ludicrous situation has been allowed to continue.
I was told that it is possible to inoculate cattle against TB, but only vets can do it, and they charge the earth!
While I love badgers, the science is divided.
There are badgers in areas with TB free cattle and there are cattle with TB in herds nowhere near badgers. We put a man on the moon forty years ago, yet we can't get to grips with this!
It's almost as though there is no appetite to, and everyone involved is making a few bob, thank you.”