The Veterinary Risk Assessment concludes that cohort culling:

1. supports the Government’s challenging target of eradicating BSE in Great Britain by 2010
2. promotes consumer confidence in UK beef
3. avoids the need for expensive additional control measures to monitor cohorts

Since 2001, European regulations have required the culling of cohorts as soon as possible. In March 2005, the UK started culling cohorts born after July 1996 in preparation for the replacement of the Over Thirty Month rule..

In January 2007, European regulations were amended to allow Member States to apply for a derogation to permit the use of cohorts until the end of their productive lives. The derogation is subject to the agreement of the European Commission and other Member States and dependent upon a favourable risk assessment taking into account the control measures in that Member State.

The VRA can be viewed at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/pdf/cohort_controls-risk.pdf

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