NFU urges Defra to maintain crucial momentum on bTB
The NFU has called for fast action on cattle and badger vaccination, testing and data sharing to protect hard-won progress towards bovine TB eradication.
The NFU is continuing to press for a science-led bovine TB policy, warning that efforts to eradicate the disease have reached a “critical stage”.
The intervention follows the government’s formal adoption of recommendations aimed at eradicating bovine TB in England by 2038. These were first published during the summer. Read: NFU responds to bTB stratgey refresh
Much of the delivery detail is yet to come and will be examined by a new industry-government Strategy Board. However, Defra said the approved measures represent a “multi-faceted approach, including the development of vaccines for cattle and badgers, mandatory blood testing, stronger wildlife surveillance and greater choice of diagnostic tests”.
The department said the government was “winning its battle against bovine TB”, pointing to the lowest levels of the disease in English cattle herds for more than 20 years.
NFU Deputy President Paul Tompkins recognised the progress but stressed that it had been “built on years of farmers and vets battling bTB through a number of measures, including wildlife control and a strategy grounded in science and evidence”.
The NFU and other industry partners contributed to the recommendations through the Strategy Refresh Steering Group. Paul welcomed government backing for several elements of that work, while warning that the eradication programme had reached a “critical stage” – and that significant concerns remained.
20,494 – the number of cattle in England lost to bTB in 2025
“Policymakers must bring farmers with them and urgently plug the emerging gaps with practical, proven measures.”
NFU Deputy President Paul Tompkins
A battle by no means won
“With more than 20,000 cattle still being slaughtered every year, the battle is by no means won,” he said.
“And while achievement must be recognised, there is still a long way to go to eradication.
“It must also be recognised that progress to date has not been delivered by any single intervention. We have always said that bTB eradication requires a comprehensive suite of measures which are scientifically proven to work.
“Government ambitions to continue developing strategy are welcome, but optimism alone will not see us through.”
With the effective end of the wider use of wildlife control in England, Paul stressed the need for “serious movement” on cattle and badger vaccination, alongside better data sharing. The new blueprint sets out an ambition to deploy cattle vaccination ‘by 2030’. And although the strategy includes the rollout of badger vaccination, its level of effectiveness remains unproven at scale.
Farmers must remain central to bTB testing decisions
Against that backdrop, the NFU is highlighting that any gap in viable bovine TB management measures could undo hard-won progress. It also opposes plans to make blood testing mandatory.
Paul said: “We need serious movement on measures such as cattle and badger vaccination and better data sharing to ensure we protect the progress made, and fast.
“While we wholly agree farmers should have access to more tests, including gamma blood tests, we are clear that these should not be mandatory. Rather, the appropriate form of testing should be determined by farmers and their vets.
“As ever, farmers remain steadfast in their commitment to bTB eradication. There are multiple elements of this strategy that will help us to get there, but only if policymakers bring farmers and industry with them and urgently plug the emerging gaps with practical, proven measures to maintain progress.”
