SEVEN questions about Bovine TB in Worcestershire have been tabled in Parliament by Sir Michael Spicer, MP for West Worcestershire, following his meeting with members of the Pershore and Upton-on-Severn branch of the National Farmers' Union last Friday.

Sir Michael's questions to the Secretary of State for Defra, Margaret Beckett, asked her to publish the figures for the past five years of incidents of TB in cattle and badgers in Worcestershire and Herefordshire and nationally, the number of cattle slaughtered in the last five years in the two counties and nationally as part of the campaign against TB, and when she expects to publish the results of the present research into any impact of TB in badgers on cattle.

Sir Michael said: "There is no doubt that the incidence of TB in cattle is growing at a fast rate in Worcestershire and elsewhere. This is causing considerable anxiety to farmers, although pasteurisation of milk protects the disease from spreading to humans."

He stressed: "It is vital the cause of this bovine disease should be quickly established. For some time the Government has been promising to complete the research into the impact of Bovine TB in badgers on cattle. It is essential that the conclusions of this research are published as soon as possible."