Commenting on the Environment Minister’s statement on ‘A Programme for Eradicating Bovine Tuberculosis in Wales’, Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs Antoinette Sandbach AM, said:
“The Minister has today hamstrung the eradication programme by abandoning culling, despite voting in favour of that policy less than a year ago.
“The previous eradication strategy had cross party support in the Assembly and the full backing of the industry.
“This U-turn is a betrayal of rural Wales.
“Farmers in TB hotspots will feel that the light at the end of the tunnel has been snuffed out. Badger vaccination is simply not effective enough to eliminate the reservoir of TB infection.
“Even with culling, TB eradication would take decades. The Welsh Labour Government’s political cowardice may mean that the goal of a TB-free Wales will not be realised in the lifetime of many affected farmers.
“It is also now essential that the minister informs the Assembly of cost estimates associated with this decision, when compared to the original cull programme.”
