All farms in Wales eligible to join
A new project is being launched today (25 July) at the Royal Welsh Show which aims to eradicate bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) in Wales.
Entitled ‘Animal Health & Welfare Wales - Eradicating bovine viral diarrhoea in Wales,’ the project is a voluntary education programme that will help farmers identify herds infected with BVD.
It has been funded by a £9 million award from the Welsh Government’s Rural Development Programme and will be managed by Coleg Sir Gâr’s Agriculture Research Centre in partnership with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC).
All cattle farms in Wales are eligible to be part of the project, regardless of their size.
Dr Neil Paton, lecturer in farm animal health and production at the RVC, has played a significant part in the project’s development and will act as the veterinary technical lead for its duration.
Dr Neil Paton, said: “BVD represents a significant drain on the UK cattle industry and is an unpleasant virus they face. This new disease eradication programme is the first industry driven initiative that aims to eradicate a disease in Wales. It is a strong sign of intent from the Welsh Government and its commitment to resolving this problem.”
John Griffiths, agriculture research centre manager based at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Gelli Aur campus who is also chair of Wales Animal Health and Welfare Framework’s BVD eradication sub-group, said: “This new voluntary disease eradication programme will be conducted alongside Wales’s annual herd TB testing regime to help identify herds infected with BVD. Support will also be available to find the PI animals from infected herds.
“The testing phase will continue over a three-year period when complete we’ll hopefully be in an improved position with regards to BVD in Wales with the aim of making Wales BVD free.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
