Mid Wales farmer worried about human TB outbreak

Montgomeryshire Farmers' Union of Wales county chairman Mark Williams, 38, who farms in Forden, near Welshpool, has had his 120-strong herd of suckler beef cattle shut down because of bTB since the spring.

He has seen at first-hand how devastating the disease can be on a daily basis, emotionally and economically, for working farmers.

But his biggest fear is the as-yet unseen potential impact on the health of the nation's children – and his own.

He said experts warn the risk of human disease rises when animal infections are not controlled.

"I have a young family – Arthur, aged seven, George, five and two-year-old John – and my main worry is that TB is transferable to humans," said Mr Williams.

"At the weekend, I was moving sheep from where badgers had used the field and I had to keep telling my boys to stay away but you can't always guarantee they will listen.

"If badgers continue to have bTB-infected status, I think we are going to face real health problems in the human population.

"Badgers are wonderful animals and there's nothing I like better than showing my boys foxes, badgers and birds in the countryside but we have to find balance.

"TB is costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands if not millions of pounds.

"In my own experience, it is not going to get better.

"Badgers, like foxes, can get into urban areas.

"They share dog and cat food and I've seen school playing fields that have been used by them as a toilet area.

"My farm may go bTB-clear next time but it is only a matter of time before bTB will come around to my farm and other farms again unless it is eradicated from the wildlife."

Mr Williams said he had strict biosecurity on his farm where cattle had no physical contact-to-contact.

He added: "Even so, one farm will be clear while a neighbouring farm will go down with TB, so that tells me that the problem is coming from another source – clearly the wildlife.

"Badgers eat hedgehogs and there is no shortage of them in my area."