Welsh Environment Minister, John Griffiths, has announced changes to some bovine TB cattle and surveillance controls to provide a higher level of protection against the disease.

The Minister confirmed that from 1 April 2013, some existing Pre Movement Testing exemptions will be amended. The main changes concern movements from markets and common land.

New key measures are:

• The exemption relating to movements from markets will now only include 'Bovine animals returning from market to the holding from which they travelled'.
• The exemption for movements between premises sharing a right of common will now only cover 'Bovine animals travelling between their registered holding and commons in relation to which their keeper has rights of grazing'.

The Minister announced that a new dedicated TB epidemiologist was to be appointed for Wales and that he or she would work within the AHVLA and focus on specific areas or clusters of disease. The postholder will be in place by April 2013.

He also announced new advice and support to farms dealing with breakdowns: "I have also asked officials to develop a way to provide additional advice and support to farmers to clear up breakdowns more quickly and efficiently. We have started to explore how private vets could become more involved with this new initiative called the Integrated Breakdown Management Project.

"I know that bovine TB is a devastating disease that has a big impact in rural communities. Since I launched the Strategic Framework for Bovine TB Eradication last March, we have kept the programme under constant review. With the new tools I have outlined today, we are addressing TB in livestock and wildlife and maintaining an effective eradication programme for the benefit of farmers, rural communities and the economy in general."

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