Bovine TB Technical Advisory Group for Wales: 10 April 2025

Glyn Hewinson: Chair
Dai Grove-White
Gareth Edwards 
Gareth Enticott
Gwenllian Rees
Ifan Lloyd 
Keith Cutler
Robert Smith
Sarah Tomlinson 
Sarah Woollatt 
Richard Irvine
Alison Jones 
Secretariat 

Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board Chair
Animal and Plant Health Agency observers
Representative from Defra
Representative from National Farmers Union Cymru 
Representative from Farmers’ Union of Wales
Representative from Iechyd da
Representative from Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University
Representative from Badgers Found Dead project

Chair welcomed members to the meeting and welcomed guest, Sharon Hammond, Chair of TB Programme Board, to the meeting. Chair conveyed apologies from Sarah Woollatt who would not be able to join until the afternoon. 

Sharon Hammond thanked the Technical Advisory Group for inviting her to attend and looked forward to the meeting.

Chief Veterinary Officer, Richard Irvine welcomed members and encouraged the Technical Advisory Group to consider all the evidence. 

Members were asked to declare any conflicts of interest not previously declared. Members had nothing additional to declare.

Members were updated on the following:

• progress with the 2025/2026 workplan  
• minutes from the previous meeting are now published on the Technical Advisory Group website
• progress on inconclusive reactor advice
• the next Programme Board meeting will be 22 May
• first year anniversary of the Technical Advisory Group

Members requested a brief paper detailing the impact of the changes to the on-farm slaughter policy as it has nearly been a year since the advice on this was submitted. 

The Chair reminded the TAG of the questions Programme Board wanted the Technical Advisory Group to look into:

• what data do we currently have on the prevalence and incidence of TB in wildlife - badgers and other species?
• what evidence do we have around wildlife – cattle, cattle - wildlife and wildlife - wildlife transmission (UK & others)?
• what evidence do we have on the impact of control measures in wildlife?
• do we have evidence on the effectiveness of other control measures?

Members were reminded that this was only the first meeting to understand the evidence base relating to wildlife, and there will be further discussions on this topic before advice is produced.

Stakeholders shared information with the TAG, followed by discussion, as follows:

• Animal and Plant Health Agency
• Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
• Welsh Government
• Badger Found Dead project
• National Farmers Union Cymru
• Farmers’ Union of Wales
• National Trust
• Iechyd da
• Experts from Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University 

In addition to discussions on the evidence presented to the TAG, the TAG reviewed published evidence on: 

• analysis of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial
• analysis of the effects of the badger control policy on bovine tuberculosis in England
• published data on the use of genomics to understand the transmission of Mycobacterium bovis within and between species
• published, peer-reviewed, analyses on the effect of BCG vaccination in badgers.
• published, peer-reviewed, reviews of observational and literature-based evidence on the effect of biosecurity measures on reducing bovine tuberculosis risks in cattle
• The Badger Trust’s report ‘Tackling Bovine TB Together: Towards Sustainable, Scientific and Effective bTB Solutions’ (November 2023)

Future meeting dates will be as follows:

• Thursday 19 June
• Monday 21 July – Royal Welsh Agricultural Show
• Thursday 18 September
• Thursday 16 October

The Technical Advisory Group Chair, Programme Board Chair and Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales thanked members and speakers and closed the meeting. 

Thursday 19 June 2025.