In the latest figures released by Defra, 3,215 cattle were slaughtered across Great Britain in January, meaning a 24.2% increase on the same time last year, and the month-on-month figures also show a jump.
In Wales, the picture has worsened considerably despite a vaccination programme for badgers which had its first year in 2012. The number of cattle compulsorily slaughtered there was 819 in January 2013, compared with 419 for the same period in 2012 and an increase of 95.4%.
Last month’s official TB statistics also made devastating reading, showing a 10% increase in cattle lost to TB for the whole of Great Britain from 2011 to 2012.
More than 38,000 cattle have now been compulsorily slaughtered because of TB in Great Britain in 2012, and more than 28,000 in England alone.
NFU vice president Adam Quinney said: “With 2012 also recording the highest number of cattle slaughtered in England to TB in a decade, they show more and more farmers are battling TB on their farms. Today’s figures make awful reading.”
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