Oggy Bloggy Ogwr

Senedd Home

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

No Result

View All Result

No Result

View All Result

Bovine TB

by Owen Donovan

September 3, 2026

in Environment & Rural Affairs, Issues

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on Bluesky Share by email

Image Source: Welsh Government, Crown Copyright

This site is best when in landscape or desktop mode on smartphones.

Senedd Home was mothballed for five long years because of a lack of support. Don’t let it happen again. This site doesn’t receive any public funding or subsidy. If you believe I’m trying something new here or like what’s being done, consider a donation. One-off or monthly; as little or as much as you want.
Click the links below, or full details are available here.

Bovine TB

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Souce (for all): UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs: “Bovine TB statistics for Wales”

New herd incidents (1999- y/e March 2026)

Cattle slaughtered (1999- y/e March 2026)

Herds not officially TB-free (1999- y/e March 2026)

Herds under movement restrictions (1999- y/e March 2026)

£ 19.9 million Compensation to farmers for slaughtered cattle, minus salvage fees (2025-26)

Compensation is based on the market value of the cattle and a multiplier.

Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

Elwyn Vaughan MS

Chair: Economy & Energy

Anna Nicholl MS

Backbencher

Laura Anne Jones MS

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister

James Evans MS

Shadow Health Minister

Helen Jenner MS

Leader of the Opposition

Andrew Griffin MS

Chair: Public Accounts

Steven Senior MS

Backbencher

Vikki Howells MS

Senedd Commissioner

Paul Davies MS

Conservative Whip

Andrew RT Davies MS

Senedd Commissioner

Paul Rock MS

Backbencher

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

Elwyn Vaughan MS

Chair: Economy & Energy

Anna Nicholl MS

Backbencher

Laura Anne Jones MS

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister

James Evans MS

Shadow Health Minister

Helen Jenner MS

Leader of the Opposition

Andrew Griffin MS

Chair: Public Accounts

Steven Senior MS

Backbencher

Vikki Howells MS

Senedd Commissioner

Paul Davies MS

Conservative Whip

Andrew RT Davies MS

Senedd Commissioner

Paul Rock MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru’s position is generally to “keep all options open” – neither ruling a wildlife cull in or out.

I understand this can be a difficult and emotive subject, but I urge everybody in the Chamber to avoid the temptation to use this to polarise debate or for political point-scoring. Precisely because it is so important and so complex, our response must be guided by the evidence. This is not a black-and-white issue. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The science is not static, and we have to be ready to be responsive to new developments and innovations, as well as what we have learned from past programmes. So, I urge this Government to remain open to considering every measure that can contribute to eradicating bovine TB.

By the end of the 1960s, the presence of TB in cattle in the UK had almost disappeared. By the mid-1970s, all herds in the UK had been cleansed of the disease, though not all at the same time. We must accept disease control policies that are evidence based, transparent and demonstrably effective.

Reform UK backs keeping all options on the table and actively supports wildlife culls if that’s deemed to be the quickest way to deal with bovine TB.

The lack of progress in eradicating TB is one of the abject failures of past Governments here. In Reform, we are clear that we need a comprehensive bovine TB control strategy, we need targeted wildlife control as part of a science-led approach, as the First Minister indicated he agreed with earlier, and we need action. Being from a farming community in Monmouthshire, I have seen grown men and women on their knees crying, livelihoods destroyed because this place has failed to take the tough decisions needed to combat bovine TB. Enough of this dark cloud hanging over our agricultural industry for decades.

In a perfect world, we'd have a reliable test for bovine TB. We'd have a proven vaccination for bovine TB, which we'd use in cattle, relatively easily, and in wildlife, which is a bit more difficult to achieve. But we don't have any of that yet, so we have to deal with the situation as we find it. The facts are that in some parts of Wales bovine TB is explosive. It is true that cattle are more likely to catch it from other members of the herd, but it's also true that the first infected in the herd is likely to become infected from wildlife, and there's a clear link between the number of badgers and infection.

This isn't a new disease. We're not starting from scratch. Welsh Governments have had years of evidence available to them. They've had scientific advice. They've had the technical advisory group. They've had veterinary expertise, years of surveillance data and years of lived experience from the farmers themselves. Farmers in my constituency aren't asking whether the Government has enough evidence yet. They're asking what the Government has actually concluded from the scientific evidence it already has. Evidence doesn't make decisions; Ministers do. And this current Minister has years of experience in opposition. He knows better than anyone exactly what the science is telling him.

Labour opposes the reintroduction of a badger cull, maintaining the position of the previous Welsh Government.

Polling shows over 60 per cent of people in Wales oppose a badger cull, so, unlike the First Minister yesterday, I do consider this to be a serious question that we need to engage with. The First Minister did say yesterday that the Government would follow the science. Much of that science shows that culling badgers is not the answer. Take, for example, the study published in Royal Society Open Science last year that said that the review of the 2006 randomised badger culling trial, which forms the justification of culling as a policy, was actually based on error.

The Conservatives want a drastically different approach to bovine TB than from previous governments and support the principle of a wildlife cull.

....come forward with a positive vision of what you want to do, and you will have this side of the Chamber supporting you in that. As I said to you in your spokesperson's questions the other day, there is a majority in this Chamber, for the first time in 20 years, that wants to see that step change in dealing with bovine TB. Use it, use it positively, and let's make Wales TB-free and eradicate this terrible disease from the countryside.

So, if we all accept that there is transmission via wildlife, why has there been an absence of efforts to address this in the first place? This cannot be the case going forward. The Cabinet Minister himself has said that wildlife is part of the bovine TB problem and must be part of the solution, and now he's in a position to actually do something about it. Farmers across Wales are watching, and they are tired of having to tell us the same thing over and over again. They now want action.

The Greens point to successful falls in bovine TB cases in the absence of a cull.

Since the previous Welsh Government announced its decision to stop culling badgers back in March 2012, the number of new herd incidents has more than halved, and bovine TB is now at its lowest level in nearly 20 years. All of this has been achieved without any lethal wildlife control.

Jane Dodds hasn’t said anything on this specifically. Previous Lib Dem groups in the Senedd have been strongly opposed to a badger cull.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Who is responsible?

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

What have ministers said?

Cattle-to-cattle transmission remains a significant issue, but it is recognised that wildlife can also act as a source of infection, and that is why our response must be comprehensive and based on the evidence. As Members know, I recently announced my intention to refresh the TB eradication programme. The foundations of the current programme are strong, but we all now need to build on that progress and all step up our efforts if we're to achieve our ambition of a TB-free Wales by 2041.

....the challenge we face now is to build on progress and push towards TB eradication in Wales. Innovative projects in Pembrokeshire and north Wales, for example, demonstrate the value of collaboration, stronger engagement between farmers and their vets, and local tailored action. I know that just as no two farms are the same, no two herd TB breakdowns are the same, and the measures to keep TB out of individual herds will also be different again.

If we are serious about achieving a TB-free Wales, we have to consider all sources of infection and all scientifically validated control measures available to us. This is why I agree that any future approach must recognise wildlife as one of several sources of infection that can contribute to the spread of bovine TB. While I recognise that wildlife can play a role in the transmission of bovine TB, it is important that we don't pretend that wildlife is responsible in every case, nor should we prejudge the conclusions of our expert advisors.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit.
Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat.
In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis.
Tempus leo eu aenean sed diam urna tempor.
Pulvinar vivamus fringilla lacus nec metus bibendum egestas. Iaculis massa nisl malesuada lacinia integer nunc posuere. Ut hendrerit semper vel class aptent taciti sociosqu.
Ad litora torquent per conubia nostra inceptos himenaeos.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque faucibus ex sapien vitae pellentesque sem placerat. In id cursus mi pretium tellus duis convallis.

Relevant Votes

Date	Motion Number	Subject	Tabled As	Binding Vote?	Votes For	Abstentions	Votes Against	Absent/No Vote	Outcome
15/07/26	NDM9288	Don’t rule out culls to address Bovine TB	Reform UK	No	79	0	9	6	AGREED

Further Reading

Nation.Cymru (26th July 2026). “Badger cull petition meets Senedd debate threshold after overwhelming support“
Senedd Research Service (2nd January 2025). “Bovine tuberculosis“
Freedom of Information request (6th July 2026). “Compensation payments for bovine TB“

Related Issues

Glass in the Welsh Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)

Environment & Rural Affairs

Glass in the Welsh Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)

by Owen Donovan

September 3, 2026

Education & Childcare

Funding for Additional Learning Needs (ALN)

by Owen Donovan

September 3, 2026

River Water Quality & Sewage Discharges

Environment & Rural Affairs

River Water Quality & Sewage Discharges

by Owen Donovan

September 3, 2026

Tags: CON-02 CON-06 ENV 02 GR-02 LB-08 National PC-01 PC-10-M PC-30 PC-35 RF-02 RF-03 RF-06 RF-27 RF-31

Copyright

Creative Commons Licence

Senedd Home by Owen Donovan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Newsletters are sent out every Monday during term-time.