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Welsh government reveals Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board
The new Board will draw on its members practical experiences with TB outbreaks.
The group will have its first meeting in December.

The Welsh government has revealed the members of its new Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board, which will provide strategic advice to government officials.

The board, consisting of veterinary surgeons, farmers and other representatives, will meet quarterly. Its first meeting will be in December.

The Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board will draw on its members’ practical experiences with TB outbreaks and restrictions. Alongside the government’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG), it will inform how the government targets the eradication of bovine TB in Wales.

Sharon Hammond, a beef, sheep and poultry farmer in mid Wales, is to chair the board. Ms Hammond has been a member of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Cymru TB Focus Group since it began and was previously a member of the 2022 TB Task and Finish Group.

Ms Hammond also has over 30 years experience as a school governor, which saw her chair four governing bodies.

The board’s members include dairy farmer Roger Lewis, who was a representative of the delivery board of the Pembrokeshire Project. He also chaired the NFU Cymru TB Focus Group, and has been a member of the GB Calf Strategy bovine TB subgroup and the Defra bovine TB Cattle Vaccine Central Core Group.

Evan Roberts, a dairy farmer, was chair of the North Wales Regional TB Eradication Board for four years. He was also Clwyd County Chair for NFU Cymru and was involved in the Welsh Government Task and Finish Group on bovine TB.

Also a member of the new Board is Sian Evans, who practised as a veterinary surgeon and now audits official veterinarians and approved tuberculin testers as they conduct on-farm TB testing.

Philip Thomas will represent the British Veterinary Association Wales branch. The board will also include representatives from the Farmers’ Union of Wales and the NFU Cymru.

There will be three ex-officio members: the chief veterinary officer for Wales, the head of Welsh Government Bovine TB Policy and a representative of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The work of the Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board and TAG forms part of the Welsh government’s initiative to bring veterinary surgeons, farmers and other experts together to eradicate bovine TB in Wales by 2041.

In 2025, both groups will analyse the TB six-year milestone target review.

Huw Irranca-Davies, deputy First Minister and cabinet secretary for climate change and rural affairs, said: “Partnership working is at the heart of the Bovine TB Eradication Programme here in Wales.

“I am pleased to see farmers and both farming unions at the heart of this new Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board, and the governance arrangements we have committed to – and are now in place.”

Image © Welsh government

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
UK's BSE risk status downgraded

The WOAH has downgraded the UK's international risk status for BSE to 'negligible'.

Defra says that the UK's improved risk status recognises the reputation for having the highest standards for biosecurity. It adds that it demonstrates decades of rigorous animal control.

Outbreaks of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, have previously resulted in bans on Britain's beef exports.

The UK's new status could lead to expanded trade and better confidence in British beef.

Christine Middlemiss, the UK's chief veterinary officer, said: "WOAH's recognition of the UK as negligible risk for BSE is a significant milestone and is a testament to the UK's strong biosecurity measures and the hard work and vigilance of farmers and livestock keepers across the country who have all played their part in managing the spread of this disease.