The following table shows the number of cattle slaughtered under bovine tuberculosis (TB) control measures either as test reactors or direct contacts, and the amount of compensation paid, in England, in the last 10 years.
Data on the number of calves slaughtered because they were born to cows affected by TB is not centrally collated in electronic format and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Number of cattle slaughtered1 Compensation paid2 (£ million) 2007 19,794 15.2 2006 16,007 18.1 2005 23,135 32.1 2004 17,306 23.1 2003 17,551 25.2 2002 18,443 20.8 2001 4,438 4.6 2000 7,190 5.7 1999 5,580 3.2 1998 5,027 3.6 1 Data regarding the number of cattle slaughtered as test reactors or direct contacts are taken from the Animal Health Database (Vetnet). Data for 2006-07 are provisional and subject to change as more data become available and as a result of data validation and cleansing. 2 Compensation includes payments to farmers for ‘reactors’ and ‘direct contact’ animals which are compulsorily slaughtered. For 1999 onwards these data have been taken from the DEFRA Oracle Financial System. 1998 data are drawn from the 1998 report of the Chief Veterinary Officer and are not directly comparable to later years.