TB Disease Investigation Report Visit

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
well, we had our first IR in 11 years last Friday, so shut down, couldn't do anything Friday, they had probably gone home. rung 2.00 Monday, they said it hadn't been looked at, but they would ring as soon as, 15 minutes later, phone rings, open, other than the IR, took longer to listen to all the f#ing options to press which number, they couldn't have been more helpful, or quicker. so credit to them
 
well, we had our first IR in 11 years last Friday, so shut down, couldn't do anything Friday, they had probably gone home. rung 2.00 Monday, they said it hadn't been looked at, but they would ring as soon as, 15 minutes later, phone rings, open, other than the IR, took longer to listen to all the f#ing options to press which number, they couldn't have been more helpful, or quicker. so credit to them
Cull it!!
 
If he does that before an IR retest in 60 days, then the animal is treated as a 'reactor', the herd shut down and the whole lot re tested.
Once an animal has been an inconclusive and gone clear on a retest, it is labelled a 'resolved IR' and can only go direct slaughter from the herd of origin.
Has that changed lately??
I culled ir's when I went down a couple of years ago :scratchhead:
 
Has that changed lately??
I culled ir's when I went down a couple of years ago :scratchhead:

Wales may be different. I was speaking of England.

Did you cull IRs voluntarily or on higher orders?
And could you confirm whether the comparative skin test is being used to cull, if any rise on the bovine site? (Not the more usual comparative reaction with avian site)

I'm hearing some huge losses on some (dairy) farms, on skin test results. 600 cattle taken from three farms.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Wales may be different. I was speaking of England.

Did you cull IRs voluntarily or on higher orders?
And could you confirm whether the comparative skin test is being used to cull, if any rise on the bovine site? (Not the more usual comparative reaction with avian site)

I'm hearing some huge losses on some (dairy) farms, on skin test results. 600 cattle taken from three farms.
:cry::(
 
Wales may be different. I was speaking of England.

Did you cull IRs voluntarily or on higher orders?
And could you confirm whether the comparative skin test is being used to cull, if any rise on the bovine site? (Not the more usual comparative reaction with avian site)

I'm hearing some huge losses on some (dairy) farms, on skin test results. 600 cattle taken from three farms.
3 year ago tb test had 3r and 5ir,because more than 1 they changed it to severe and 5r 8ir
they took the 5r and I sent the 8ir to be ruthless and clear it from here
they fussed a bit saying I wouldn't get compensated if they had lesions but I got market rate for them,2 clear tests later and I was clear again

2 year ago had 2r on annual test,(f**king vets who pmt those before they got here were really lax:mad:)

btw im all beef finish here so no breeding or live sales
 

steveR

Member
Mixed Farmer
Even with an NVL, no culture reactor, restrictions will not be lifted until a C & D form (TB5?) has been filed.
You sprayed FAM 30 at the recommended dilution rate around the isolation pen didn’t you? Of course you did.

It’s all paperwork.

Well, it's something... :eek:

I was given a lecture by a rather arrogant young Vet here a couple of years ago when helping a neighbour test (he failed) and the Vet was giving it verbals, about how important it is to isolate the IR and how infectious TB is... Disinfect the isolation pen etc etc...I did point out that the beast in question had spent the last 4 months in close proximity with a yard full of cattle. If the beast was to be taken away, WTF dfifference was another week going to make!

As for controlling the major Vector in teh area..... No response.. The Vet in question is not welcome on my place...
 
Well, it's something... :eek:

I was given a lecture by a rather arrogant young Vet here a couple of years ago when helping a neighbour test (he failed) and the Vet was giving it verbals, about how important it is to isolate the IR and how infectious TB is... I did point out that the beast in question had spent the last 4 months in close proximity with a yard full of cattle. If the beast was to be taken away, WTF dfifference was another week going to make!

As for controlling the major Vector in teh area..... No response.. The Vet in question is not welcome on my place...

The young ones ( and some older ones) need to re read the events of the past, and learn.
I was phoned a couple of weeks ago by one such, for a disease report visit. She gave it some wellie and when she was questioned, could not answer. Resented being asked and attacked me with “what is your background” (repeated three times)
That was nothing to do with anything, so she was cancelled.

The vet who came had done the last visit, almost 5 years ago, copied that as nothing had changed, the farm hadn’t moved and signed it off in ten minutes. It will not be used. They never are, so what is the point?

It really is the height of stupidity to repeat mistakes of the past and expect different results. But they do, with all the arrogance of total ignorance.
 

andrew830

Member
I have to say i have had some good ministry vets on the TB job,one in particular did the post mortem on a reactor that was shot on farm due to antibiotics,he said he would let me know the results and he did at 9pm that evening when he got home.
I have had the disease report visit and they were sympathetic to my situation but unable to do the obvious altough she did say in her home country this would have been sorted years ago.
 
I have to say i have had some good ministry vets on the TB job,one in particular did the post mortem on a reactor that was shot on farm due to antibiotics,he said he would let me know the results and he did at 9pm that evening when he got home.
I have had the disease report visit and they were sympathetic to my situation but unable to do the obvious altough she did say in her home country this would have been sorted years ago.

There are still some very good Ministry vets, but many have retired disheartened and stressed. Not being able to do the obvious and condemning so many cattle to premature death is not a happy occupation for anyone.
The one who tried to come here on a DRV is an old stager, and brusque.
I was faced with “you’ve been clear for almost 5 years, and you’re in a cull area, so what have YOU done differently? “
Moi? Me? Nothing. Nothing at all.

So I decided that I needed that attitude like the proverbial hole in the head and refused this person access.
 

Bluesman

Member
If you think that APHA is bad for cattle and TB, try having a case of TB in alpacas. I am a former dairy herd manager of 30 years experience so have been through TB, BSE etc. We had an alpaca die in December - vet and I suspected TB so was taken 120 miles to nearest APHA VLA for pm. Severe TB lesions found on pm. We shut ourselves down immediately. 5 weeks later no communication from APHA. Rang them and was told alpacas are different and you can do what you like, even sell them. Following day received apologies and movement restriction, they got it wrong. 16 weeks later, no results of culture so TB free. We underwent private blood test after skin test and had 2 confirmed cases of TB, shut down again. When they came to collect the 2 alpacas, they killed them in the shed and dragged them across our yard leaving a trail of blood, biosecurity!!! Now waiting for result of culture but will probably end up doing another private test before we consider moving anything.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
If you think that APHA is bad for cattle and TB, try having a case of TB in alpacas. I am a former dairy herd manager of 30 years experience so have been through TB, BSE etc. We had an alpaca die in December - vet and I suspected TB so was taken 120 miles to nearest APHA VLA for pm. Severe TB lesions found on pm. We shut ourselves down immediately. 5 weeks later no communication from APHA. Rang them and was told alpacas are different and you can do what you like, even sell them. Following day received apologies and movement restriction, they got it wrong. 16 weeks later, no results of culture so TB free. We underwent private blood test after skin test and had 2 confirmed cases of TB, shut down again. When they came to collect the 2 alpacas, they killed them in the shed and dragged them across our yard leaving a trail of blood, biosecurity!!! Now waiting for result of culture but will probably end up doing another private test before we consider moving anything.
:mad::mad::mad:

Perhaps it's time to take such an attitude to your MP or to an Ag related investigative journalist?

Nothing is going to change in DEFRA / APHA's attitude to TB unless we make it change.

BTW, our latest IR wasn't. The vet student read back the pre-test skin figures to the vet wrong :rolleyes:. Last week was a clear test. One more clear test in 60 days and APHA will want to put us back in the "officially TB Free" category and on 4 year testing. :banghead:

The Vet and I are still struggling to get anyone official to authorise a PM on the dead badger cub I found.
 
If you think that APHA is bad for cattle and TB, try having a case of TB in alpacas. I am a former dairy herd manager of 30 years experience so have been through TB, BSE etc. We had an alpaca die in December - vet and I suspected TB so was taken 120 miles to nearest APHA VLA for pm. Severe TB lesions found on pm. We shut ourselves down immediately. 5 weeks later no communication from APHA. Rang them and was told alpacas are different and you can do what you like, even sell them. Following day received apologies and movement restriction, they got it wrong. 16 weeks later, no results of culture so TB free. We underwent private blood test after skin test and had 2 confirmed cases of TB, shut down again. When they came to collect the 2 alpacas, they killed them in the shed and dragged them across our yard leaving a trail of blood, biosecurity!!! Now waiting for result of culture but will probably end up doing another private test before we consider moving anything.

That doesn't surprise me in the least.

You are being incredibly responsible, but sadly the alpaca breed society (BAS) is in permanent denial about the disease in alpacas. Possibly, until a high profile case such as below ?:

https://bovinetb.blogspot.com/2017/03/alpaca-tb-warning-notice.html

More information which may be of help can be found on the Alpaca TB website where 59 premises were under TB restriction as of 2018.

http://www.alpacatb.com/

What area are you in?
 

ThePits

Member
I had 2 double IR’s taken two weeks ago finally 10 days after they were slaughtered I chased they and they told me there was no visible lesions. I asked them when a vet would be in contact they said they didn’t know, I asked them if they could get a vet to ring me,they said they couldn’t! Still not had any correspondence from them!!! Has anybody else had this happen? Don’t quite know where we go now ? Thanks
 

willdevon

Member
Location
devon
I had 2 double IR’s taken two weeks ago finally 10 days after they were slaughtered I chased they and they told me there was no visible lesions. I asked them when a vet would be in contact they said they didn’t know, I asked them if they could get a vet to ring me,they said they couldn’t! Still not had any correspondence from them!!! Has anybody else had this happen? Don’t quite know where we go now ? Thanks

I had something similar and i had received several directly contradictory letters from Animal health. I called them to be informed that the chief vet ( who had signed the letters) was far too important to talk to me! I promptly wrote (enclosing copies of the letters) complaining about the shoddy treatment and Animal Health's incompetence to the newly appointed secretary of state ( Liz Truss). A couple of weeks later an extremely apologetic chief vet rang me with a grovelling apology and 'he blamed the computer system' for the erroneous letters. He did let slip that he had been instructed by the Minister's office to call me and apologise. It didn't improve anything but it made me feel better!
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
I had 2 double IR’s taken two weeks ago finally 10 days after they were slaughtered I chased they and they told me there was no visible lesions. I asked them when a vet would be in contact they said they didn’t know, I asked them if they could get a vet to ring me,they said they couldn’t! Still not had any correspondence from them!!! Has anybody else had this happen? Don’t quite know where we go now ? Thanks
We're a few weeks ahead of you. Which zone are you in?

I did get a vet call back after hassling them 3 times.
 

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