Compensation for animals slaughtered due to TB

Our long-term goal is to eradicate bovine TB in Wales. We pay TB compensation to owners for animals slaughtered because of TB.

Arrangements for paying compensation for cattle slaughtered due to TB are set out in the Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2010 (as amended). The Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2011 (as amended) provides arrangements for compensation for non-bovine animals. In most cases, full compensation will be paid. But the amount of compensation you receive may be reduced if:

• you have not followed the rules set out in the TB Order
• a bovine animal has no valid Cattle Passport available on farm at the time of valuation, or
• the animals have been moved on to the holding under licence whilst the holding is under movement restrictions

Most owners abide by the rules and are working with us to eradicate TB. We reduce compensation paid for animals slaughtered due to TB to encourage animal keepers to follow best practice. Where compensation has been reduced because animals have moved on under licence, an owner can move healthy animals on to a holding with a known TB problem, but the owner shares the financial risk.

Where cattle need to be slaughtered due to TB, you will receive a Notice of Intent to Slaughter. This is sent out by Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and will:

• list the animals that must be slaughtered, and
• the date by when this must be done

Animals must be removed from holdings without delay. This will reduce the risk of other animals becoming infected with TB.

Please note: If any cattle are removed from your holding after the date specified, TB compensation can be reduced by up to 75%. This will depend on the length of the delay.

APHA will appoint a valuer to determine the market value of the animals. The owner of the animals can only reject the appointment if there is a personal or business conflict of interest. In these circumstances, we will appoint an independently nominated valuer.

Preparing for the valuation

Make sure that animals are available for the valuer to inspect easily. Make sure all supporting paperwork is available:

• the animal passport
• the completed TR531 form or Pregnancy Diagnosis Certificate (PDC) for any pregnant animals. The date of the examination on all PDCs must be within 90 days of the valuation. Otherwise the PDC is not valid
• any pedigree documents, etc

Please note:

• you must have a PDC for all in-calf animals
• the PDC must be on the TR531 form from your vet
• if you do not supply a correctly completed TR531 PDC, we will value your animal as not in calf
• we will not accept any other type of document as proof; it has to be the TR531

To allow valuation to take place, all cattle to be valued must be correctly ear tagged. They must also have a valid cattle passport present on farm. If the passport is not presented at valuation, the animal can still be valued. But the owner has 10 days from the day of the valuation to produce it to APHA.

If the passport is not received by APHA within the 10 day timescale:

• a nil value will be confirmed, and
• a £1 compensation payment will be paid

Cattle will be considered to have no market value if:

• cattle have been refused a passport
• cattle have had their passport revoked
• the animal has a CPP35 Notice of Registration

They will need to be slaughtered on farm. The Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2010 (as amended) requires that compensation is paid for cattle that are slaughtered because of TB. In these circumstances a compensation payment of £1 per animal will be paid. 

Cattle aged 37 days and younger

The only exception to this is for cattle aged 37 days or younger. Cattle owners have 27 days to apply for a Cattle Passport. They should allow 10 days for receipt of a passport from BCMS. Because of this, cattle aged 37 days or younger will be valued if no passport is on farm at the time of valuation.

An animal of this age would need to be slaughtered on farm, as it cannot be removed without a passport. However, compensation will be paid based on the market value as established at valuation.

Valuers

APHA appoint a qualified valuer to carry out each valuation, on our behalf. The valuers:

• have at least 8 years’ experience in valuing animals
• are aware of current market values for animals

The chosen valuer and valuation is non-negotiable and it is not open to appeal. APHA staff are not in a position to change valuer or valuation.

A valuer will visit the farm to carry out a valuation of the animals. They will complete the relevant paperwork to reflect this. The owner of the animals can provide the valuer with necessary information/evidence. This includes pedigree certificates, for the valuer to consider. Please note that valuers cannot accept ASR and BSR Certificates as proof of pedigree.

APHA try to accommodate valuation times and dates to suit the farmer’s availability. But this may not always be possible due to the logistics of arranging valuers and hauliers. 

Farmers do not have to sign valuations in Wales. As a signature from the owner is not required, a representative of the farmer’s choice can be on the holding to:

• present the animals, and
• pass any relevant paperwork required for the valuation
• ensure the information on the valuation paperwork is accurate. This will ensure that we pay the compensation to the correct business/person. Check that the owner’s name and address is correct (especially if it differs from the address of the holding).

Once the valuation process is complete, APHA process the paperwork so we can make the payment.

Checking valuations

We have appointed a monitoring panel to ensure valuations are in line with current market value. They can ask valuers to justify their valuations at any time. We also ask valuers to provide evidence of the reasons that led to the given market value. Evidence can include: 

• copies of sales records of comparable animals sold at a UK level, and
• compare specific lots sold at named marts on specific dates

Valuers are professionals. They are not there to discuss processes or policies. You should direct any queries or feedback should to APHA.

Bovine animals that are removed to slaughter: 

• must be ear tagged in accordance with the Cattle Identification (Wales) regulations 2007,
• must have a passport containing correct details
• must be sent to slaughter with the relevant cattle passport

Animals without a valid cattle passport are not permitted to travel to a slaughterhouse. They must be slaughtered on farm.

It is recommended that you check the cattle passports for each animal on your holding before the TB test is due. This will allow you time to request amendments, or replacement passports if required from BCMS. Correct passports must be presented at the valuation appointment.

If cattle are in a medicine withdrawal period when they are due to be slaughtered, you must inform APHA when you are contacted regarding the valuation appointment. The animals will not be permitted to enter the food chain and will need to be slaughtered on farm.

If an animal is deemed unfit to travel due to being:

• within 27 days of calving
• within 7 days post calving
• lame or ill

you must ensure that you inform APHA when you are contacted regarding the valuation appointment. APHA will arrange for the animal to be slaughtered on farm.

Animals must comply with the Clean Livestock Policy and therefore must be cleaned to an acceptable standard before being presented for slaughter. 

It is important that animals identified as needing to be removed from the breakdown farm are removed as quickly as possible. We will reduce compensation:

• when a herd owner has not cooperated with the removal of cattle to be slaughtered and,
• the removal has been delayed for longer than 10 working days from the date when the animals were identified as needing to be slaughtered 

Compensation will not be reduced where the 10-day target has been missed through circumstances outside of the control of the owner.

When we identify a holding containing an animal suspected of having TB, it is placed under movement restrictions. Bringing healthy cattle into a restricted holding exposes them to the risk of infection. This goes against the principles of infectious disease control. Restocking is allowed by a Veterinary Risk Assessment. But you cannot restock until the remaining cattle have passed one or more official Tuberculosis test.

APHA may provide a license for an owner to bring cattle into a herd that is under TB restrictions. If the animals are then slaughtered because of TB, before the herd becomes TB free, the compensation for the animal(s) will be reduced by 50%. This allows the farmer to restock but means they share the financial risk of bringing healthy cattle into a herd with a known TB problem. Compensation payments for such animals may be delayed whilst the amount of compensation due is calculated.

Please note: If you move cattle onto or off your holding without a valid movement licence, you may be liable to prosecution. This would constitute a breach of The Tuberculosis (Wales) Order 2010 (as amended). Any TB compensation payable for animals that have been moved without a licence may be reduced by 95%.

In most cases, the market value of an animal slaughtered for TB will be paid as compensation. 

When we will reduce compensation

We will reduce compensation in circumstances where we are satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that the rules that are laid out in the TB Order have been broken. A list of the circumstances, in which the animal’s owner may receive less than the market value for the animal, is at Annex A.

It is also an offence to break the rules set out in the TB Order. Owners who fail to comply with the requirements of the Order may be prosecuted by Local Authority Trading Standards using the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard of evidence.

Please note:

• Where there has been a breach of the TB Order a reduction of between 5% and 95% will be applied to the market value.
• Animals moved on to the holding under licence whilst the holding is under movement restrictions will have a compensation reduction of 50% of market value applied if the animals concerned are slaughtered because of TB
• the minimum amount of compensation paid will be the salvage value of an animal
• the market value (or reduced market value) of the animal will be paid when this is greater than the salvage value
• where no valid cattle passport was present on farm at the time of valuation, £1 will be paid for that animal

The staff you speak to during the breakdown follow the policies set out by us. Our staff understand the stresses you might be under. They will help whenever possible, but should not be subjected to violent, threatening or abusive behaviour.

Payment of compensation

When the payment is ready to be processed APHA will send you a letter saying that the payment has been sent to WG for processing. From this point it will take 10 working days to reach your bank account. This does not include weekends or Bank Holidays.

If, after the 10 working days, you have checked your bank account and still not received payment you can then send an email to BovineTB@gov.wales stating your CRN / CPH and the expected payment date for WG to investigate.

TB payments are made using the Rural Payments Wales (RPW) payment system so having an active CRN and up to date bank details are essential. If you need to check that your details are correct you can contact Rural Payments Wales.

Some examples of the compensation paid due to different multipliers are provided in the table below:

The current TB Order allows us to recover our costs. This includes the cost of equipment and/or staff, where we have carried out a TB test because:

• the owner has failed to have an animal tested
• the owner has failed to allow an animal to be valued
• the owner fails to allow an animal to be removed

We are also able to delay compensation payments or offset a cost or payment recovery against future payments.

The maximum amount of compensation we will pay for an animal is £5,000. £1 is the minimum.

We make the TB compensation payment to the Customer Reference Number (CRN) of the owner of the animals. So, it is important that you have applied for a CRN and that your details, and bank account information, are up to date. If you need to apply for a CRN, or need to change your bank or business details, contact Rural Payments Wales.

You can appeal a decision to reduce compensation under our Independent Appeals Process. Please note that you cannot appeal against the market value established at the valuation stage.

We must receive your appeal no later than 60 days after the date of the letter notifying you of the decision that you are appealing against. We cannot consider appeals received after this deadline.

Having a TB breakdown is an extremely difficult time for all involved.

The following organisations that can provide help and support:

• Farming Community Network (FCN) 03000 111 999
• The Addington Fund 01926 620135  http://www.addingtonfund.org.uk/
• The DPJ Foundations 0800 587 4262, or text 07860 048799 http://www.thedpjfoundation.co.uk/
• Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) 0800 188 4444 help@rabi.org.uk
• Tir Dewi 0800 121 4722  mail@tirdewi.co.uk https://gov.wales/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-farming-families  
• FarmWell Wales http://www.farmwell.wales/ FarmWell Wales is an online information hub which includes:
  • user-friendly information sources
  • guidance on how you can access support and mentoring

The scheme is open to all small and medium sized enterprises.

Aid is granted in compliance with the set out conditions of Chapter 1 (Common provisions) and Article 26 (specific provisions) of Regulation (EU) 702/2014.The measures are aimed at compensating owners for losses caused by animal disease. In accordance with Article 26.1 of Regulation (EU) No. 702/2014, it shall be compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107(3) (c) of the Treaty and shall be exempted from the notification requirement of Article 108(3) thereof where it fulfils the conditions laid down in paragraphs 2 to 13 of this Article and in Chapter I. The scheme will abide by Article 26(5) in relation to direct payment.

The aid intensity for this will not exceed 100%. The aid will be limited to losses caused by TB, which is currently endemic in Wales. The cattle control and farmer support schemes are specific to TB as mentioned in the list of animal diseases established by the World Organisation for Animal Health and/or in Annex 1 to Regulation (EU) No. 652/2014

The aid does not relate to measures in respects of which European Union legislation provides that the cost of such measures is to be borne by the agricultural holding. The scheme will comply with Article 26.7 through to Article 26.9 of Regulation (EU) No. 702/2014.