A new report commissioned by the Farming Community Network (FCN) has explored the health and wellbeing impacts of bovine tuberculosis (TB) on farmers, their families and businesses across the UK.
The report, titled ‘Finding the Box-Top: Addressing the human cost of TB’, features the contributions of 195 farmers who were interviewed by FCN volunteers in designated TB hotspots as well as an additional 265 farmers who were surveyed from 2023 – 2024.
FCN worked with assoc. prof. Willie Smith, formerly of the Science Council of Canada and of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in consultation with government officials, rural community leaders, bankers, and the clergy to gain insight into the human toll of the disease.
The impacts explored included the significant financial costs, mental illness and damage to overall wellbeing, with many of the respondents reporting that the long-term physical, emotional and financial implications of bTB outweighs the short term impacts.
The report showed that the health symptoms reported by farmers range from fear and depression, sleepless nights, persistent anger, deep sense of loss of control over their personal lives and their farm business, to a feeling of “worthlessness” and suicidal thoughts.
Many of the farmers surveyed indicated that the health impacts are produced more so from anticipation of statutory testing and from the fear of a potential outbreak, rather than by an outbreak itself.
The stresses were often exacerbated by uncertainty, fear of further disease outbreaks, or by the fear of continued financial losses.
According to the report, the human impact of the disease is not limited to the farmer, but is often extended to the nuclear family too, with one farmer reporting effects such as:
“Pressure on the marriage, children picking up tension and friction, upsetting for children when pet cow was put down, psychological stress when young calves are shot.”
While another respondent said: “Because of the stress I am under, my family bear the brunt and I can see the fear and insecurity I am passing on to them; who knows what long term damage is being caused.”
According to the report, the farmers also stated that the impact of TB puts a brake on business expansion and puts long-term development plans on hold.
While others reported scepticism towards the efficacy of statutory policies designed to manage and eliminate TB, with others claiming that a badger cull is the only means necessary to effectively eradicate the disease.
It also recommends exploring the development of an agency, independent of government, for the management of TB in the UK agricultural sector, pointing to the success of the New Zealand system as a reference point.
The financial impact was the most frequently mentioned factor by farmers when asked about how the outbreak had affected the running of their farm business, with many respondents reporting a fear of bankruptcy and liquidation.
Reductions in milk or beef sales caused by the loss of culled animals and the inability to market store cattle were frequently cited in the report.
CEO of The Farming Community Network, Dr Jude McCann, said: “Throughout this research, UK farmers have shared their personal experiences of TB and the devastating impacts on their health, wellbeing and financial security.
“TB is a factor in many cases presenting to FCN and continues to cause our farming community a significant amount of stress and uncertainty.
“We hope the findings and recommendations of this report will help to raise awareness of the human impacts of bTB and ensure that farmers’ health and wellbeing remains at the heart of decision-making.
“We also hope to see greater UK-wide collaboration across agencies, organisations and farm businesses, working together to eradicate bTB.”
The report also included specific insights into the TB situation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
TB in Northern Ireland (NI)
Due to the predominance of small scale farms in NI, with 25,000 farms categorised as “very small”, the region is more exposed to the impacts of TB as a result of the relatively small profit margins in circulation to tackle outbreaks.
The report found that herd prevalence of TB stood at 12.4% in 2017, which is below the average of 20.4% in England, but higher than the Welsh average of 12.5% and the 4.9% reported in Ireland.
While the TB notification rate in NI was 3.5/100,000 in 2022, compared to 2.2 in Wales and 7.7 in England, the report showed.
The report also pointed to assessments of the economic efficiency and effectiveness of the TB regime in NI, made by the Northern Ireland Audit Office, which have discredited the efficacy of the current control policies, claiming they impose high costs with little return to farmers.
Scotland
Scotland has held an Officially Tuberculosis-Free (OTB) status since 2009, which is unique to the UK and remains a priority for the Scottish government.
Recognition as OTB is conditional on maintaining a low, stable incidence of TB below a very low threshold, which includes fewer than 1% of herds presenting evidence of having had TB in the previous 6 years.
Explanation for Scotland’s continued, enviable OTB status is uncertain, the report said, with some hypotheses pointing to the relatively low number of badgers compared to the rest of the UK and the low density of cattle in the region.
Wales
The report defined patterns of TB infection in Wales as “ever-changing”, but found that new TB incidents in Welsh herds fell by 49% while prevalence decreased by 32% between 2009 and December 2022.
The report found that much like NI, the relatively low incomes earned by Welsh farmers, with an average of £34,300 in 2020-2021, provided a lower financial margin to cushion farmers from the potential or actual impact of a TB outbreak.
The report revealed that the Welsh government established a bovine TB technical advisory group chaired by professor Glyn Hewison in April 2024 and a TB eradication programme board in August 2024, to advice cabinet members on related government policies.
