How to deal with TB in non-bovine animals
How to manage tuberculosis (TB) in your non-bovine animals, when you can move them, and how to get compensation if you slaughter them.
Applies to England
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious respiratory disease found in mammals.
This guide applies to TB infection in domestic non-bovine animals (as well as those kept as pets), and includes:
- pigs
- sheep
- goats
- captive deer managed by a keeper
- camelids (llama, alpaca, vicuna and guanaco)
There’s separate guidance for TB in cats, dogs and other domestic pets.
How to spot TB
It’s hard to spot TB as the signs are similar to other diseases and normally only develop in advanced stages of infection. Animals infected with TB often do not show any signs of disease.
When signs of TB are present in animals, they may be:
- coughing or breathing problems
- loss of condition
- loss of appetite
- yielding less milk (for dairy animals)
- seeing no improvement from a respiratory infection after veterinary treatment
You should get advice from your vet if you think any of your animals have TB.
How TB spreads
Animals to animals
TB can spread to your domestic animals from:
- infected cattle
- infected wild animals, such as badgers and wild deer
- infected non-bovine animals introduced to your herd
It can spread directly from animal to animal, or indirectly through contaminated:
- manure and slurry
- urine
- bedding
- feed
- water
- equipment
Animals to people
TB can spread from infected animals to humans if people:
- breathe in animal breath
- touch animal waste (urine or faeces)
- have cut skin and touch animals or carcasses
- eat dairy products made from unpasteurised milk from infected dairy animals
If you suspect TB
You must immediately contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) if you or your vet suspect a live animal or carcase is infected with TB.
Keep the animal or carcase on your premises isolated as far as is practical from other livestock until APHA carry out an investigation.
APHA will visit as soon as possible and examine the animals or carcases, and may test and take samples.
APHA usually put movement restrictions on premises until they determine that TB is not present.
The vet’s tests
You must allow your animals to be tested for TB.
For non-bovine animals the vet uses the tuberculin skin test. The vet injects tuberculin into the animal’s skin and measures how the skin has reacted after about 3 days.
After the tests are completed (this may involve repeat rounds of testing) the vet will confirm whether the animals have TB and whether the restrictions can be lifted.
APHA has powers in England to require the TB testing of all non-bovine animals. If you don’t allow the APHA vet to test your animals, they will not lift movement restrictions.
In species where skin testing is difficult such as pigs and park deer, the results of abattoir post-mortem examinations may be taken into consideration when APHA decide on lifting restrictions.
If TB is found
APHA has statutory powers in England to slaughter and remove livestock of any species that test positive for TB.
Movement restrictions
You must restrict the movement of animals onto or off your premises until APHA is satisfied that TB is no longer present.
Vaccination and treatment
You or your vet must not use antimicrobial drugs, for example antibiotics to attempt to treat TB. There are no vaccines approved in the UK for the vaccination of animals (except badgers) against TB.
Milk
You must not supply milk from infected animals for human consumption, and you should not consume it yourself.
Compensation for slaughtered animals in England
You’ll get statutory compensation payments for all animals removed for disease control purposes.
The amount you’ll get depends on:
- the species
- the sex of the animal
- the age and weight of the animal on the day you’re served notice of its slaughter
- whether it’s used for breeding or not
Camelids
| Category | Compensation paid for each animal (£) |
|---|---|
| Breeding males or breeding females over 18 months old | 1,500 |
| Non-breeding animals over 18 months old | 750 |
| Animals 18 months old or younger | 750 |
Deer
| Category | Compensation paid for each animal (£) |
|---|---|
| Breeding males | 1,500 |
| Female and non-breeding male animals | 400 |
Goats
| Category | Compensation paid for each animal (£) |
|---|---|
| Animals 1 year old or younger | 80 |
| Non-breeding animals over 1 year old | 160 |
| Breeding females over 1 year old | 250 |
| Breeding males over 1 year old | 350 |
Pigs
| Category | Compensation paid for each animal (£) |
|---|---|
| Animals weighing less than 25kg (‘suckler’) | 30 |
| Animals weighing between 25kg and 35kg (‘weaner’) | 40 |
| Animals weighing more than 35kg (‘grower’ or ‘finisher’) | 90 |
| Breeding females (‘gilt’ or ‘sow’) | 250 |
| Breeding males | 350 |
Sheep
| Category | Compensation paid for each animal (£) |
|---|---|
| Animals 1 year old or younger | 80 |
| Breeding females over 1 year old | 130 |
| Breeding males over 1 year old | 350 |
If you get approval from APHA, you can choose to slaughter your animals at your own expense and keep any salvage value. This applies to all species.
Day-to-day disease control
Ask your vet for advice to reduce the risk of introducing TB to your animals. See the disease prevention for livestock and poultry keepers guidance.
Moving your animals
You should keep a record of animals moving on and off your premises including:
- animals that go to events, for example livestock shows
- animals moved for mating
Precautionary tests
Your vet must get APHA’s approval to privately test animals for TB, for example, before animals are moved. You must pay for private tests.
APHA can ask to test your animals for TB if:
- during routine abattoir meat inspection of your animals suspect lesions have tested positive for TB
- the bacterium that causes TB (M. bovis) has been found in laboratory samples taken from your animals
- TB has been found in other groups of animals kept on your farm, for example cattle or in animals kept on neighbouring premises
- animals have moved to your premises from a place where TB has been confirmed (tracings)
- privately tested animals have a positive test result
You don’t pay for these tests - the government covers the costs.
Updates to this page
Published 4 June 2015Last updated 13 February 2023 + show all updates
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Links to guidance for Wales and guidance for Scotland have changed. How to spot TB: new paragraph added - animals infected with TB often do not show any signs of disease. Movement restrictions: you must restrict the movement of your animals until APHA is satisfied that TB is no longer on your farm. Vaccination and treatment: You or your vet must not use antimicrobial drugs, for example antibiotics or antiviral drugs to attempt to treat TB.
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The section 'Compensation for slaughtered animals (in England)' has been updated. It now gives payment rates for statutory compensation for pigs, sheep, goats, captive deer and camelids.
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Added details on TB testing intervals for the different animal species.
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First published.