Bovine TB

Although the Secretary of State is a very reasonable man, farmers in Gloucestershire, where the hot-spot areas are, will greet his announcement with absolute dismay and annoyance. In the past 10 years, 200,000 cattle have been slaughtered and we may be on course for 50,000 cattle to be slaughtered this year alone. That is a huge cost in human and animal misery, and in financial terms. The Secretary of State said, even today, that a proactive cull with hard boundaries may well produce some results. Why has he rejected that option?