Herd Scheme Update
Welsh Black Herd Health scheme.
1st November 2009
At present over 275 breeders are participating in the herd health scheme as members of the PCHS, testing for Johne’s disease and some are also testing for some of the other diseases ( BVD, IBR, & Leptospirosis ).
Herds of ‘Elite health status’ are herds have achieved certification, under a licensed cattle health scheme, of freedom from Johne’s disease, BVD, IBR, and Leptospirosis.
At present 18 Welsh Black herds have ‘elite health status’
And 186 herds are accredited monitored free of Johne’s disease.
Should prospective purchasers require a list of certified and screened herds, the preferred list of members herd’s health status is to be found on the premium Cattle Health Scheme web-site www.cattlehealth.co.uk under PCHS Member’s Health Status. This list is updated weekly but is however not complete as several breeders have not yet put their names forward to be included.
At present we still have a list of accredited herds participating within the Society’s Herd Health Programme but it does not include any herds that are accredited without being a part of our programme. Please note that this list includes herds which have had their accredited status temporarily suspended whilst awaiting the result of any animal/s undergoing re-tests after reacting to the initial blood test. It can be obtained for a small fee from:
The Secretary,
Welsh Black Cattle Society
13 Bangor Street,
Caernarfon,
Gwynedd LL55 1AP
Telephone: 01286 672391
WELSH BLACK CATTLE SOCIETY JOHNE’S DISEASE CONTROL SCHEME
The progress of the scheme can be judged from the graphs below. The first shows the percentage of cattle entered in the Dolgellau and Llandovery sales that were accredited ‘monitored free’ of Johne’s disease. The disparity between the Dolgellau and Llandovery figures is because in South Wales awareness of the disease was initially poorer and therefore uptake of the scheme was slower than in North Wales The second graph shows the proportion of cattle with different Johne’s disease status entered in all the sales from 2002 to 2009. These figures show a steady increase in the number of accredited cattle being put forward for sale peaking in 2008. Despite the slight drop in 2009 we are now providing a large pool of cattle within the breed, which carry a minimal risk of being infected with Johne’s disease. This is a measure of the success of the scheme.
Percentage of cattle accredited free of Johne’s disease entered in Dolgellau and Llandovery sales