DEPARTMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (News Release ref
:375/08) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 26 November 2008
Defra will publish
two reports today that build on the evidence base on bovine TB in deer.
The first is the final report from the South West England and
Cotswolds Survey of Tuberculosis in Deer, the second is a related
quantitative risk assessment of the risk posed to cattle by wild deer.
The results of the deer survey show that on Forestry Commission
land in the South West Peninsula, bovine TB is present at a very
low level (less than 1 per cent, except in one area where it is
present at 3.8 per cent in fallow deer). In the Cotswolds, high
prevalences were found in two of the three areas sampled (15.9 per
cent and 8.1 per cent) particularly in fallow deer. In all areas
surveyed, fallow deer were the species most likely to have the
highest level of infection with M. bovis.
The key results of the second report, the quantitative risk
assessment, indicate that deer are likely to pose a lower TB risk
to cattle than badgers throughout most of South West England and Wales.
While TB is not currently a significant risk in wild deer, deer
stalkers and managers should take the disease risk into account
when establishing any management programmes. Defra will be working
with the Deer Initiative to share this information with the
industry and to help inform future plans.
Both reports can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/index.htm
Notes to Editors
1. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has been identified in five of the
six species of deer present in Great Britain, with variable
frequency depending on the species and geographical area, although
the prevalence of bTB in the national deer herd (farmed, wild and
park) is thought to be low.
2. Quantitative Risk Assessments commissioned by Defra
demonstrate that the risk of cattle infection from deer is only
likely to be significant if the prevalence of TB infection in deer
is high. The indication from research carried out by the Central
Science Laboratory (2005) is that the prevalence of TB infection
in deer is not high and is estimated to be less than 5% and that
the ecology of wild deer makes it unlikely that they would have
any close direct contact with cattle.
More detailed information about this research can be found on
Defra's website at:
http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project_data/projects.asp?M=KWS&V=3036&SUBMIT1=Search&SCOPE=0
http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project_data/projects.asp?M=KWS&V=3037&SUBMIT1=Search&SCOPE=0
http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project_data/projects.asp?M=KWS&V=SE3010&SUBMIT1=Search&SCOPE=0
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website http://www.defra.gov.uk
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