Increased bovine TB outbreaks in lower-risk zones in England have led to some farmers questioning the current policy set out to control the disease.

At the NBA event in Kendal, Bill Harper, the chair of the NBA TB committee, called for a more “honest” approach to mapping the disease.

He said that over the last 12 months the high-risk zone has seen a 9% fall in herd breakdowns, but worryingly, the edge zone is up 8% and the low-risk area has seen 25% more cases.

Cattle kept in the edge and low-risk zones are subject to fewer TB tests than those within the high-risk zone in the southwest of England.

The Devonshire beef farmer went on to challenge the industry to continue its hard work in eradicating TB and warned that compensation could be reduced once the UK is outside the EU.

He backed the badger cull in Gloucestershire, Cornwall, Hereford and Worcestershire, where he said TB instances were falling.

On the other hand, he maintained there was no evidence that the badger vaccination programme was working – suggesting that only 50% of badgers can be caught where vaccinations are being used.

Harper also warned of the dangers in using the Gamma blood test for identifying the disease, believing that it causes too many false positives and is high cost.