Animal Plant Health Agency
Cattle, buffalo or bison keepers must test their animals for bovine TB as part of a regime that reflects the regional risks of the disease.
You must complete the TB testing within the time frame outlined by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
If you fail to meet the deadlines, APHA will:
- apply movement restrictions for your animals
- notify the paying agencies
You may also face the following consequences:
- significant reduction of any CAP scheme payments governed by cross compliance (overdue TB testing may be considered an intentional breach)
- reduction of reactor compensation payments
There are different surveillance TB testing intervals in England, Wales and Scotland.
To find out the testing interval for your area, see the:
- TB testing interval search tool
- lists of counties and parishes for England, Wales and Scotland
England TB testing intervals
In England, the surveillance TB testing intervals are based on the regional level of disease risk.
The default TB testing interval for herds are as follows:
- 48 months in the low risk area (LRA)
- 6 or 12 months in the edge area
- 6 months in the high risk area (HRA)
| HRA: 6-monthly testing | Edge area: 6-monthly testing | Edge area: annual testing | LRA: 4-yearly testing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avon | Berkshire (Part) | Berkshire (Part) | Bedfordshire |
| Cornwall | Cheshire | Buckinghamshire | Cambridgeshire |
| Devon | Derbyshire (Part) | Derbyshire (Part) | Cleveland |
| Dorset | Hampshire (Part) | East Sussex | Co. Durham |
| Gloucestershire | Oxfordshire | Hampshire (Part) | Cumbria |
| Hereford | Warwickshire | Leicestershire | Essex |
| Shropshire | Northamptonshire | Greater London | |
| Somerset | Nottinghamshire | Greater Manchester | |
| Staffordshire | Hertfordshire | ||
| West Midlands | Humberside | ||
| Wiltshire | Isle of Wight | ||
| Worcester | Isles of Scilly | ||
| Lancashire | |||
| Lincolnshire | |||
| Merseyside | |||
| Norfolk | |||
| Northumberland | |||
| North Yorkshire | |||
| South Yorkshire | |||
| Suffolk | |||
| Surrey | |||
| Tyne & Wear | |||
| West Sussex | |||
| West Yorkshire |
For more information about the recent introduction of 6-monthly testing in the HRA of England, see the TB hub website.
For further information, see the:
Changes to your individual herds surveillance testing intervals
If your herd is located on a 6-monthly surveillance testing area, it may meet specific criteria to be eligible for annual testing. This recognises and rewards cattle keepers with a reduced risk of suffering a TB breakdown.
Your herd will need to meet at least one of the following criteria:
- not had a TB breakdown for at least 6 years
- proactively trying to increase their resilience to bovine TB by participating in a Cattle Health Certification Standards (CHECS) licensed bovine TB health scheme; CHECS TB entry level membership does not apply
In the LRA or annual testing parts of the edge area, you may need to follow a more intensive TB testing regime (known as radial testing) if your herd is located within a 3km radius of a new lesion or culture positive TB breakdown herd.
APHA will write to keepers if there are changes to their area or herd testing interval, explaining the reason for the change.
Pre-movement and post-movement testing
Cattle keepers must comply with statutory pre-movement testing requirements, unless exempt. This includes herds in the LRA that are tested more frequently than the default 48-month interval, for example herds on radial testing.
If your herd is in the LRA and you bring in cattle from the rest of England and Wales, you must arrange and pay for post-movement tests for your animals.
Read the guidance on pre-movement and post-movement testing.
Wales TB testing intervals
Following the results of the TB Health Check Wales in 2008, the annual herd TB testing regime was introduced to maintain a high level of disease surveillance.
Annual herd testing ha