LAUSR

InvestIgatIons into the first recorded incidence of bovine tB in a pack of British hunting hounds have raised alarms about the role of local hunts in spreading the disease. Reports in March 2017 of tB infection among the hounds of the Kimblewick Hunt in south-east england initiated calls from anti-hunting groups for all hunting with hounds to be stopped as a precaution. the hunt – which covers parts of six counties from Hampshire up to oxfordshire and Bedfordshire – had asked a local vet to investigate its pack in December 2016, leading to the euthanasia of an unconfirmed number of dogs. ongoing investigations have yet to reveal the source of the infection, but officials said there is little risk of bovine tB spread from hunting packs. ‘tB in dogs caused by Mycobacterium bovis in the UK is extremely rare,’ said an aPHa spokesman. ‘there is no evidence to suggest that dogs play a significant role in the persistence of bovine tB in england and that hunting with dogs contributes to the spread of the disease amongst cattle.’ Dogs are considered a ‘spillover’ species, said the agency, and management of tB infection in companion animals is handled by owners and their vets. tuberculosis was confirmed in three dogs as infection with Mycobacterium bovis by the aPHa in January 2017, after the hunt’s local vet passed on samples to investigators from euthanised animals in mid-December. government agencies did not impose restrictions but the Kimblewick Hunt voluntarily quarantined the hounds. the League against Cruel sports (LaCs) and Hounds off asked for a strict ban on hunting with hounds in March as a biosecurity measure and an investigation into the risk of hunting with hounds and tB spread. evidence from the LaCs into the impact of hunting with hounds and tB spread includes maps showing new herd outbreaks inside the Kimblewick’s country. Research from 2011 showing tB present in postmortem examinations of Irish hunting hounds is additional evidence of potential risk, it said.