As our weather becomes increasingly unpredictable we need to be prepared for potential recurrence of the heatwave conditions approaching 40 0 C seen in July ‘22. During extreme heat events we may need to balance non-emergency procedures such as TB testing with considerations around animal welfare, and we know that many of you also share these concerns.
Currently APHA have no formal TB contingency for extreme conditions, but simply place full responsibility for animal welfare during TB tests firmly with the farmer and the vet practice.
TB herd tests are usually booked well in advance, and we are only too aware of the implications of any disruption to this in terms of inconvenience, costs and potential difficulty in rebooking.
Therefore if a period of really extreme heat is forecast, we may contact you to consider or discuss some of the following:
- Altering start times/starting very early to avoid the hottest part of the day
- If you will need to gather cattle from field locations, whether this can be done safely
- Whether you have cool buildings that can be used for cattle handling, or other shade available especially over concrete yards
- Whether we/you are able to split a test into several smaller parts
- Whether we/you are able to delay or defer a test if it is felt that no other option is available
Whilst we will do everything we can to maintain service as usual, in some cases it would be preferable not to start a test rather than be forced to abandon part way through due to signs of heat stress, thereby risking a situation where an unfinished test could mean herd restrictions for up to 60 days.
Protecting yourselves and your stock from some of the direct effects of heat by doing things such as planting more trees to provide shade over outdoor pens; covered roofs over hutches and concrete yards; ensuring clean water is always available for gathered stock, or having cool buildings available for summer use. These could all help to protect animal welfare during the spells of hotter temperatures that we can expect in future years. It is ever more important to have good cow flow and easy handling systems and there are SFI grant schemes that can part fund this type of handling equipment.
Please feel free to contact us to discuss any concerns you may have or ways we may be able to help.
Written by Paula Hunt, BVSc MRCVs, TB Lead Vet
