TB has continued to be at the top of the agricultural agenda for some time and various proposals to eradicate it have come and gone with varying levels of success and public support. Included in some of the latest DEFRA consultations are proposals to stop the free movement of cattle from Sole Occupancy Authority (SOA) holdings without a pre-movement test. We consider these rule changes and the impact that the future phasing out of SOAs could have on beef and dairy farming.
Since a review in 2012 there has been talk of phasing out SOAs completely and as we know, no new SOAs can be registered, nor land added to those that already exist. Some have a pre-determined expiry date and therefore will determine automatically, however for those without an expiry date we only know that DEFRA plans to abolish them over a two year period, beginning in 2016. We are finding that this uncertainty is leading to farmers looking to develop solutions now, pre-empting the future phasing out we are likely to see. In some instances this is leading to a requirement for further buildings, enabling young stock previously raised on a SOA holding to be ‘brought on’ at the primary farm. This can protect against, for example, dairy replacements being ‘stuck’ on a rearing unit, when the time comes that they need to be reintroduced into the primary herd.
DEFRA is currently consulting on changes to pre-movement testing rules, ending on the 11th July, and particularly the suggestion to abolish the current exemption on pre-movement testing for animals moving between SOA premises within the same TB testing frequency area. At present there are no requirements for a pre-movement TB test (otherwise required to be within the 60 days prior to movement) to be carried out on animals moving between two holdings subject to the same management and registered as a SOA. If approved, these changes could ‘effectively’ introduce the abolition of SOAs sooner than the planned phasing out from 2016. The consultation does suggest an option enabling one to continue to move cattle without pre-movement testing to premises included in an SOA within 10 miles of the main farm. This would create additional paperwork for farmers and increased TB testing costs, however when weighed up against the potential risks one could consider this a positive move for disease prevention. Providing on farm accommodation for livestock that are currently raised elsewhere could also provide a solution to these changes, should they come into force.
We do know that from the 1st October 2014 the AHVLA will no longer allow these partial de-restrictions, and DEFRA hopes that this will reduce the likelihood of unconfirmed infected cattle being moved between SOA holdings and therefore reduce the possibility of TB being spread to areas that were previously deemed to be clear. On top of the current options open to farmers in this position, cattle keepers may be able to register new epidemiologically separate parts of their holding to one or more new CPHs. This would require separate parts of the farm to be genuinely under separate management, using separate equipment, with limited cattle movements between the parts. This could limit a TB restriction to the group where the reactor is present. Those looking to obtain a separate CPH for the purposes of establishing a separate epidemiological area should contact the AHVLA in the first instance to determine if the proposed arrangements provide sufficient separation. Thereafter the new CPH can be obtained from the RPA. A second option could be to establish a TB isolation unit, requiring AHVLA approval and again a separate CPH. All TB isolation units will need a separate CPH to the remainder of the holding after the 30th September 2014, after which tighter operating rules will also apply.
