What is bovine tuberculosis? Everything you need to know about the disease affecting Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm

TV presenter said Diddly Squat team were ‘devastated’ by the development and being forced to cull sickly cattle

Jeremy Clarkson has announced that his Cotswold farm, Diddy Squat, is facing an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis among the cattle.

The TV star said on 31 July that everyone at Diddy Squat, which is the focus of his Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm, was “devastated” after a pregnant cow had contracted the disease.

He also revealed that veterinary tests for Endgame, the beloved Aberdeen Angus bull featured in his hit show, were “inconclusive”.

Find out everything you need to know about the disease and how it will impact the farm’s future below.

What is bovine tuberculosis?

Bovine TB (bTB) is a chronic respiratory disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium bovis. It mainly affects cattle but can also infect badgers, deer, goats, pigs, llamas and alpacas as well as many other mammals.

Transmission can occur through nose-to-nose contact and also through contact with saliva, urine, faeces and milk. Cattle can become infected when directly exposed to infectious cattle and their faeces.

The disease can be catastrophic for farmers, because infected cattle may be culled to stop the spread of infection. Due to a bTB incident in England between October 2021 and September 2022, 22,934 cows were killed.

According to the UK government’s advice on bTB, transmission to humans is very rare and the risk of infection is low.

However, transmission is still possible through unpasteurised milk or dairy products from an infected cow, buffalo, goat or sheep and by inhaling bacteria breathed out by infected animals.

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Jeremy Clarkson at his Diddly Squat farm (Prime Video)

Herds in high-risk areas are tested for the disease every six months, while those in lower-risk areas are tested every four years.

For farmers who have confirmed bovine TB cases among their animals, restrictions are imposed, and some livestock may be culled.

What does this mean for Diddy Squat farm?

Speaking on Times Radio on 1 August, Clarkson revealed that some of the farm’s cattle had failed a biannual test for the disease.

The former Top Gear presenter said the farm won’t be allowed to buy or sell any cows as they await further testing, but confirmed that the farm’s shop remains unaffected.

He said: “It's awful, it is awful. You have a test every six months on the cows and then you sort of become blasé, it's a hypothetical threat. And then the vet looks up as he did yesterday lunchtime and said 'I'm really sorry this one's failed'. So that means we're now locked down and it's just dreadful, absolutely dreadful.”

He also revealed the sad news that one of the farm’s newborn puppies had died and that they have a “sickly calf” on the farm.

“Honestly, farming? I'm not enjoying it this week,” he said.

Clarkson shared a picture of the infected cow on Instagram (Instagram/@jeremyclarkson1)

Clarkson shared a video of the pregnant cow who had contracted the disease, revealing that the animal will be culled. He wrote: “This is the poor cow that has bTB. She’s pregnant with twins and has been separated from her calf. And she will have to be culled. Small wonder she’s crying.”

He said in his initial statement: “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated. I should clear this up really. It’s Bovine TB that we have. It doesn’t affect people, just our poor cows.”