The FUW has welcomed recognition by the Minister for Rural Affairs that national level BVD control in Wales will require a compulsory programme but stresses that moves towards a legislative approach must be expedited or current gains will be lost.

The need for a legislative approach to BVD control was outlined in a written statement by the Welsh Government last week.

FUW deputy head of policy Dr Hazel Wright said: “We welcome recognition by the Minister that national co-ordination is required for widespread BVD eradication.

“However, the FUW has been clear from the start of the voluntary RDP funded Gwaredu BVD programme that any gains made during the voluntary phase could be lost if there is a significant gap between the end of the voluntary programme and the onset of legislation.”­

The Gwaredu BVD scheme, which was launched in 2017, has seen over 83 per cent of the cattle herds in Wales screened for BVD and has identified over 1,000 persistently infected animals.

“The FUW has been clear that a ‘no-gap’ scenario is the best and most efficient way to transition between a voluntary phase and a legislative approach to national BVD eradication. However, it now appears that there may be a lengthy transition phase as we move towards legislation and we are concerned that this will lead to a decline in the level of annual screens being conducted.”

According to the summary of responses to the Welsh Government’s consultation to introduce a BVD Eradication Scheme almost 90 per cent of respondents agreed with the introduction of BVD legislation in Wales.

Dr Wright added: “In our response to the Welsh Government’s consultation we made it extremely clear that a smooth and immediate transition to legislation was required to maintain momentum. It is therefore extremely frustrating that the Gwaredu BVD scheme ended in December 2022 without any firm plans for the start of a legislative programme.”