WELSH dairy and beef farmers could struggle to find European markets for their produce if the Welsh government fails to come up with a credible alternative to the badger bovine TB vaccination programme in Pembrokeshire this month.

Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Simon Thomas, has warned that not only is there no guarantee that European countries would accept beef and dairy products produced in Wales post-Brexit but Wales would also lose important funding for its eradication programme.

The Welsh government is set to announce on October 18 what it says is a “refreshed approach’’ to tackling bovine TB. Wales’s TB eradication policy has in part been in limbo since badger vaccination was suspended more than a year ago because of a shortage of the BCG vaccine.

During a cross party Senedd debate, Mr Thomas said that this year 56 per cent of all dairy herds in Wales were affected by restrictions relating to bovine TB compared to 38% 10 years ago.

He warned that with an enhanced level of TB in the Welsh cattle herd, questions could be asked about whether Welsh dairy and beef produce should be received by European countries.

“There are no guarantees that the rest of the European Union will accept that. That was reinforced just this morning by Peter Midmore from Aberystwyth University, who gave evidence to the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee. Professor Midmore was asked whether there was a risk of this happening, and he said quite clearly that there was,’’ said Mr Thomas.

“If vaccine is not what is going to be used to deal with the wildlife vector, then the Government has to come forward with a coherent plan of how it is going to deal with TB in badgers, because that is what it boils down to.’’

The Cabinet Secretary leading the eradication programme, Lesley Griffiths, said three categories of TB areas based on incident levels had been identified across Wales.

“This will allow us to tailor and implement different measures and approaches that are proportionate and that reflect the varying disease level and risks across Wales,’’ she said.

“It is crucial that we get these measures right in order to protect areas with low levels of disease and drive down incidence in areas where the disease has become endemic. I will be saying more about this next month in my oral statement.’’

In the lead-up to the debate the Welsh Conservatives drew attention to the latest figures on bovine TB.

The figures reveal that in the 12 months to June 2016, 9,476 cattle were slaughtered in Wales – up 43% from 6,647 for the same period to June 2015.

Welsh Conservatives have called on the Welsh Government to acknowledge calls from the farming unions for changes to their TB eradication programme.

Commenting on the figures, Shadow Rural Affairs SecretaryPaul Davies said: “These figures highlight Labour’s spectacular failure to tackle bovine TB, and demonstrate the huge impact that this disease is having on rural communities and Welsh farming.

“We have long called for a comprehensive scientifically-led programme of bovine TB eradication to tackle the disease and it remains all too clear that vaccination alone will not work.

“We need to see decisive action from the Welsh Government, and a recognition that stringent cattle controls and additional biosecurity will not cut the mustard on their own.”