Farming Today

Original version

BBC Radio 4 LW

Magazines & Reviews

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

The latest news about food, farming and the countryside

BBC Radio 4 FM

Farming Today: 13/06/24 Farm vets and the strain of TB; Wildlife Trusts election wish list; Dog DNA

13/06/24 Farm vets and the strain of TB; Wildlife Trusts election wish list; Dog DNA

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 13/06/24 Farm vets and the strain of TB; Wildlife Trusts election wish list; Dog DNA

Environmental campaigners' wish list for the general election.

The Wildlife Trusts outline their priorities for the next government: cleaner rivers, fewer pesticides and £4.4 billion for nature friendly farming in England.

We’re talking about vets all this week and one of the most difficult and unpleasant jobs they face is dealing with serious illness and disease in livestock, like the devastating foot and mouth outbreak in 2001. Breaking the painful news to a farmer that their whole livelihood is under threat is something no one wants on their job description.  The threat of bovine TB can take a heavy toll on the mental wellbeing of both farmers and vets. We meet a dairy farmer in Derbyshire who's lived under the shadow of TB all her life, and also the farm vet who runs the TB Advisory Service which supports farmers and vets.

As the general election campaigning continues, party manifestos are coming out, thick and fast. We’re going to be taking a detailed look at all of the main manifestos with key party spokes-people, the week before the election on 4th July, but we’re also hearing from a range of campaign groups and organisations that live and breath farming, rural life, wildlife and the environment to find out what they would like from the next government.  Today it’s the Wildlife Trusts, the organisation that campaigns for wildlife and wild places.

Ten police forces across the country are to trial new forensic technology to help identify dogs involved in livestock attacks. It involves collecting canine DNA at the scene.
The South West of England has more dog attacks of this kind than anywhere else in the country – last year, farm animals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds were severely injured or killed by dogs, according to NFU Mutual. The hope is these new DNA test kits will recue the number of dog attacks. 

Presenter = Caz Graham
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Farming Today

13/06/24 Farm vets and the strain of TB; Wildlife Trusts election wish list; Dog DNA

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4