Last week saw the return of the political parties’ conference season, with Plaid Cymru hosting their Spring Conference in Llandudno. With next year’s key Senedd election fast-approaching, it provided an opportunity for the party to outline its vision and priorities for the coming year, and an opportunity for Farmers’ Union of Wales officials to lobby politicians and candidates on the changes and challenges facing the agricultural sector.

Amidst the many challenges facing Welsh farmers, bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) continues to cast a dark shadow. Not only does the disease pose a threat to livestock, but it continues to impact the day-to-day life of farmers and their livelihoods and wellbeing.

The extent of the challenge bTB poses to Welsh farming was emphasised last week in sobering figures released by Defra. 2024 saw 13,034 animals slaughtered in Wales as a result of a bTB incident - an increase of 27% on the previous 12 month period. Tragically, the number of TB-positive cattle slaughtered in Wales in 2024 was the highest ever in a single 12-month period.

Behind these record-breaking slaughter statistics lie Welsh farmers and families bearing the immense burden and unseen costs of this crisis; their businesses threatened, and their mental health often at breaking point.

Whilst eradicating bTB remains a hugely complex and emotive subject, the FUW did welcome the Welsh Government’s decision last Summer to establish a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and TB Eradication Programme Board was a step in the right direction. As part of the work, the FUW has welcomed the opportunity to sit on the Board - bringing together expertise and experience from a range of farmers, vets, Welsh Government and animal health representatives.

Whilst the group’s work continues to get underway - and sadly, answers will not be implemented overnight - it remains the case that these slaughter statistics again provide a timely and significant reminder of the extent, and cost of bTB on farmyards across Wales.

Each animal that is prematurely removed from a farm, as a result of a positive TB test, contributes to snowballing economic consequences for that business. There are numerous unseen additional costs incurred with mandatory slaughter such as lost revenue, loss of milk production, loss of breeding lines, delays to re-stocking, shifts in marketing, persistent changes in herd size, disruption to planned purchases and the additional feed, bedding and housing requirements of a breakdown.

It’s all too clear that the status quo cannot continue, and the FUW will continue to reiterate the desperate need for the Welsh Government to take the disease by the scruff of its neck and follow the science in broadening the eradication policy in Wales by adopting a truly holistic approach to address this challenge.