All cattle herds are classed as officially TB free (OTF) if their TB tests are up to date and there is no suspicion of TB infection. If TB is suspected, then cattle are put under restrictions and the OTF status is suspended.
A veterinary officer or inspector from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will complete a disease investigation to:
assess the TB breakdown and its possible origin
implement control measures to prevent the spread to other herds
The documents explain in detail what happens if bovine TB is identified or suspected in a cattle herd. Theres information on:
investigation of the TB breakdown
reactor animals
dealing with milk from reactors
valuation, slaughter and compensation
inconclusive reactors
withdrawal of officially TB free status
cleansing and disinfection
disposal of slurry and manure
testing during a breakdown
cattle movements on and off restricted holdings
Published 1 April 2014 Last updated 20 December 2022 +show all updates
The guidance 'Dealing with TB in your herd: what to do if bovine TB is detected in your herd in Scotland' has been updated throughout. The PDF 'Dealing with TB in your herd: what happens if TB is identified in your herd (Scotland)' has been removed. It's been replaced with an accessible HTML attachment.
Updated Welsh language version of the Wales guidance.
Wales guidance updated. Changes to Wales policies on officially TB free status withdrawn (OTFW) and on inconclusive reactors (IRs) apply from 17 January 2022.
The PDF 'Dealing with TB in your herd: what happens if TB is identified in your herd (Wales)' has been replaced with the HTML document 'Dealing with TB in your herd: what to do if bovine TB is detected in your herd in Wales'.
Updated Wales document - compensation section
Wales documents updated in relation to OTFW Wales policy change due to come into force from the 1 January 2016.
PDF document on guidance for cattle keepers in England has been archived and link added to new guidance.
England - paragraph added about compensation for animals in AFUs and EFUs
