Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 17 November 2021.
Diolch, Llywydd. Minister, in yesterday's bovine TB eradication strategy statement, you stated that one of the reasons you're stopping the trap and test of badgers is, in your words, because it proved unpopular with farmers. However, it could be argued that one of the reasons that contributed to the programme failing was that a list of participating farms was made public in 2018 in a perceived data breach, resulting in those participating farmers being harassed and bullied. Additionally, NFU Cymru president John Davies stated:
'Welsh Government appears to be unique in its thinking that this disease can be eradicated without proactively dealing with diseased animals in both cattle and wildlife populations.'
With concerns expressed by farmers over the Welsh Government's ability to handle sensitive data and to have an adequate approach to beating the disease without a holistic and proactive eradication strategy, what confidence can farmers have in your Government in winning the battle against bovine TB?