Would TB vaccination be better than hit-and-miss approach?

A recent edition of BBC's Countryfile showed a vet examining a cow for TB. The animal had earlier been given an injection and he was now looking for a lump on the side of the neck, indicating some sort of reaction.

It seemed to me – admittedly a person with no knowledge of bovine TB – very much a hit-and-miss method, where two vets could quite easily come to different conclusions.

Presumably, to be on the safe side, the animal was sent for slaughter.

I got the impression, rightly or wrongly, that no-one seemed to care about the animal's welfare.

From: David T Craggs, Tunstall, East Yorkshire.

From: Ian Sneyd, Dobcross, Saddleworth.

I HAVE been reading with interest the correspondence about dead frogs in ponds at the end of this year's cold winter. I have for many years kept and managed my own pond, solely for frogs

and I very rarely get any floating to the surface, bloated and dead.

This winter I have had more, the main reason they die is when the surface of the pond is not broken every day while the cold spell persists.

I use a length of timber and push through the ice trying not to create too many shock waves. This is to allow poisonous gases to escape.

These emanate from rotting vegetation at the bottom of the pond and kill any frog that is over-wintering at the bottom of the pond.

The vast majority winter elsewhere, returning every spring to breed and spawn. I hope this is of some help to your readers.

CW 10/4/10