Jeremy Clarkson has said cattle on his Diddly Squat farm have tested positive for tuberculous. He put on X: “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated”.
Farmers have to regularly test their cattle for the disease, and if it is found it can have huge consequences for farmers. Clarkson has said the animal which has tested positive is pregnant with twins and has been asked to confirm if one of the star’s of his TV series has also tested positive.
Clarkson responded on X when someone asked if “Endgame” was impacted that “his test was ‘inconclusive’ I couldn’t bear if we lost him”. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
Endgame is the name of a Aberdeen Angus bull that Jeremy Clarkson purchased for his farm, as shown in the Amazon series.
England, Scotland and Wales have different legislation and systems about TB but it can lead to the slaughter of herds, and devastating emotionally and financially for farmers.
Hundreds of people have already replied to the TV star offering their best wishes.
One Welsh farmer shared how every one of 600 cows on a family’s farm had to be killed after TB was found.
The UK Government website says, bovine tuberculosis (TB) is “caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium bovis, (M. bovis) which is closely related to the bacterium that causes human and avian tuberculosis.
“All mammalian species, including humans, are susceptible to bovine TB.”
The infectious disease is respiratory and can be transmitted “through nose to nose contact and also through contact with saliva, urine, faeces and milk”.
TB in cattle is usually detected through routine tests before signs develop. But it is “also detected during inspections of slaughtered cattle”.
Farmers have to keep up to a schedule of TB testing to check their herds and comply with rules. Farms are classed as being “officially TB free” if they have no TB, but if TB is found that status is lost.
A strict timeline has to be followed, including the isolation of animals, followed movement restrictions. The “reactor” cattle (an animal that has failed a test for bovine TB) has to be removed, and slaughtered.
There then has to strict cleaning and disinfection of areas. There are then further tests required every 60 days which have to be negative before TB free status is restored.
