PA MediaTV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has announced that his farm has “gone down with TB”.
In a social media post on X the former Top Gear host said everyone at his Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire “is absolutely devastated”.
He later wrote that the infected cow is “pregnant with twins,” at the site which featured Amazon Prime Video documentary series Clarkson’s Farm.
Cattle which fail a TB test, or animals that have inconclusive results for two consecutive tests, and are classed as “reactors”, must be isolated then to slaughter.
Bovine Tuberculosis (Bovine TB) can be infectious to all mammalian species, including humans.
It is mainly a respiratory disease, which can be transmitted through nose to nose contact and also through contact with saliva, urine, faeces and milk.
Cattle can become infected when directly exposed to infectious cattle or other infectious animals and their excretions.
PA MediaIt is recognised as a problem which devastates farm businesses, spreading from badgers to cattle, and from cow to cow.
Badger culling has long been a part of the Government response to the disease, despite criticism from wildlife and animal welfare campaigners.
The Government last month said it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election.
Oxfordshire is an “edge area” for TB, meaning it is a buffer zone between high risk and low risk areas – so most herds are subject to six monthly TB tests by default.
There have been several cases in the area of Oxfordshire near to Diddly Squat Farm in recent weeks, according to ibTB, a mapping platform for the disease in England and Wales.
