Welsh Government Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board Meeting: 2 June 2026

The meeting was held on Tuesday 2 June at the Welsh Government Offices in Cardiff.

Sharon Hammond: Chair
Glyn Hewinson: Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Chair
Richard Irvine (Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales)
Alan Gardner 
Phil Thomas
Evan Roberts
Sian Evans 
Elin Jenkins 
Roger Lewis
Tori Morgan
Elgan Thomas
Gemma Haines (online)
Linda Jones (online)
APHA official (Alan Huxtable)
WG Official
WG Official
WG Official
WG Official
WG secretariat

• The Chair of the Programme Board and the Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales started the meeting by welcoming members to Cardiff.
• Llyr Gruffydd, the new Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, joined the meeting and outlined their vision for tackling bovine TB, emphasising evidence-based, holistic, and deliverable approaches, and committed to regular engagement with the Programme Board and Technical Advisory Group.
• The Cabinet Minister stressed that all actions must be grounded in robust science, operational insight, and real-life experience, aligning cattle controls, wildlife measures, biosecurity, diagnostics, and behavioural change into a coherent strategy, and highlighted the need for measurable outcomes and progress.
• The Cabinet Minister emphasised the importance of a holistic approach, integrating multiple interventions rather than relying on a single solution, and ensuring that strategies are scalable and implementable on the ground, with barriers to delivery identified and addressed.
• The Cabinet Minister also expressed openness to adopting effective policies from other nations, including England, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, and highlighted the importance of sharing evidence and learning from cross-border initiatives, especially in border areas where policy alignment is crucial. 

• Two Programme Board members reported on their recent trip to Northern Ireland, detailing collaborative biosecurity projects, farmer and union engagement, and the use of innovative tools like the Herdsafe app, with lessons learned for Welsh TB policy and cross-border cooperation.
• Farmers and vets from both sides of the Northern Ireland–Republic border participated in meetings showcasing the Herdsafe biosecurity app, with departments conducting on-farm demonstrations and discussing enhanced biosecurity measures.
• The importance of accurate data recording and testing was highlighted, with gaps in data affecting intervention effectiveness; supplementary testing, including gamma interferon, was discussed as part of the project’s future plans.
• Board members discussed how Welsh farmers and unions might respond to similar projects, noting differences in political and union dynamics compared to Ireland, and emphasised the need for targeted, evidence-led interventions and communication strategies to change mindsets.

• Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Chair provided an update on enhanced TB management measures, including test performance, persistent herd breakdowns, and recommendations from the TAG for scaling up successful elements of pilot projects, with the Programme Board considering the establishment of a task and finish group.
• TAG Chair explained the comparative Berkeley test’s trade-off between false positives and missed true positives, noting that larger dairy herds now face more residual infection, with gamma interferon and IDEX tests identifying high-risk animals missed by standard skin tests.
• TAG Chair suggested scaling up collaborative pilot projects, supporting vet and farmer training, encouraging industry ownership of non-statutory TB control tools, and structured evaluation of projects to assess effectiveness and behavioural change.
• Discussions included the potential use of trade tests (Bovine only) for movement restrictions, machine learning tools for herd risk assessment, and consideration of six-monthly testing to reduce immune suppression and improve outcomes.

• An official from APHA presented modelling work on Test, Vaccinate, Remove (TVR) in Northern Ireland, explaining agent-based modelling, field validation, perturbation effects, and implications for Welsh pilot projects, with board members raising questions about data requirements, test efficacy, and applicability.
• The official described agent-based modelling, which tracks individual animals and their interactions, allowing exploration of heterogeneity, vaccine response, and control scenarios, with spatial layouts reflecting real-world badger territories.
• The model and field trial showed substantial reduction in disease prevalence in badgers (from 15% to 5%), with TVR causing less perturbation than mass culling, especially in lower-density populations, and vaccination maintaining low disease levels post-intervention.
• The cage-side test used in TVR had high specificity (99%), minimising false positives, and the project area was about 100 square kilometres, with larger areas preferred to reduce edge effects and improve predictability.
• Board members requested comparisons between TVR and vaccination-only approaches, with the APHA official noting that TVR achieves quicker reductions by removing infected animals, and that more field data on vaccination is needed for model validation; modelling incorporating cattle would require significantly more data and development time.

• The Chair led a discussion on the second draft of the wildlife advice paper, with board members debating the focus, recommendations, and integration with a wider TB strategy refresh, balancing tactical actions with longer-term strategic planning and expectation management.
• Board members provided feedback on the wildlife advice paper, suggesting tighter recommendations, clearer differentiation between pilot projects and national policy, and the need to scale up successful pilots.
• The board discussed managing industry expectations, acknowledging resource limitations, and the importance of evidence-led, focused interventions, with clear communication to stakeholders about the phased nature of policy development and implementation.
• Concerns were raised about the discontinuation of funding for badger vaccination, with suggestions to restore support for farmers who have adopted vaccination, and to assess the cost-benefit of different wildlife interventions in future recommendations.
• The team discussed the need to clarify that badgers are not the main source of infection but are a significant wildlife factor in disease transmission, and agreeing to adjust the wording to avoid misinterpretation and referencing relevant data.
• The Board discussed the identification of evidence gaps in wildlife disease transmission, particularly in Wales, and debated how to capture these gaps as actionable items for research and policy development.
• The group explored the use of genomic sequencing to attribute sources and directionality of disease transmission and detailing ongoing efforts to sequence isolates in Pembrokeshire and the need for prioritisation of areas for deep sequencing.
• There was consensus that pilot projects should inform national strategy, with recommendations to ensure pilot outcomes are integrated into policy reform rather than being isolated actions.
• Biosecurity was discussed as a key intervention, with the group agreeing to explicitly mention it in recommendations to ensure a holistic approach to disease control, alongside cattle and wildlife measures.
• The importance of tailored communication was emphasised, particularly in engaging farmers and the wider industry, with APHA tasked to present on communication strategies and also raising the need for local intelligence to inform interventions.

• The APHA official discussed the ongoing challenges and strategies for improving communication and engagement with farmers and stakeholders regarding TB policies, including the use of online resources, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and direct communication methods, with input from APHA and Welsh Government representatives.
• Persistent issues in communicating TB policies were highlighted, noting that both the Board and farmers sometimes struggle with clarity and engagement. They emphasised the need for two-way communication and acknowledged that miscommunication can occur on both sides, impacting policy understanding and compliance.
• The Board reviewed the effectiveness of various online resources such as the TB Hub, Welsh Government website, and OV briefing notes. They discussed the increasing reliance on search engines and AI for information, noting risks of misinformation and the importance of clear, accessible, and up-to-date content, especially as AI-generated summaries can be inaccurate.
• APHA official described the process of redrafting standard letters and the integration of AI prompts to improve clarity and consistency. The group discussed the balance between automated and personalised communication, the legal requirements for certain notices, and the challenges of ensuring timely and accurate delivery, including the use of RPW Wales for uploading correspondence.
• Participants debated the value of in-person visits versus phone or online engagement, considering the resource implications of increasing face-to-face contact. They explored prioritisation strategies for farm visits, such as focusing on new breakdowns in low-risk areas, and discussed the potential benefits and costs of expanding engagement through additional staff or private vets.
• The group acknowledged the complexity of TB policies, including the nuances of testing regimes and the importance of clear messaging to avoid confusion. They discussed the need for simplified summaries, prioritisation of key messages, and the trade-offs between localised and standardised approaches to communication.

• The Board will have a presence at the Royal Welsh Show on Monday 20th July 2026.
• The Board discussed arrangements for the upcoming Royal Welsh Show, including plans for stakeholder engagement, meeting logistics, and the ability to facilitate informal conversations with attendees on the issue of Bovine TB.

• Following the Royal Welsh Show, the next Programme Board meeting will take place in Aberystwyth on September 17th 2026.