The bovine tuberculosis testing program in the UK subjects millions of cattle to regular tuberculin skin tests. The welfare implications of this large-scale testing program are rarely considered.
The bovine TB control program imposes a significant welfare burden on cattle through the repeated restraint required for skin testing. Individual test events cause acute stress from restraint, handling and needle injection. The frequency of tests - up to every 60 days in high-risk areas - means some cattle experience this stress very regularly throughout their lives. Reactor cattle that test positive must be slaughtered, often as healthy-appearing animals, causing disruption to established social groups in the herd. The welfare implications of the testing program as a whole are rarely systematically evaluated despite its enormous scale. More humane testing methods that reduce restraint requirements would benefit millions of animals annually while serving the same disease control function.