Plans over TB in cattle could be another blow for dairy farmers.

The proposal is made by a group set up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

It says farms with herds on one or two-year routine screening should have to test cattle that are more than 15 months old before they are sold on.

Defra says the cost of testing for TB before sale would be shared by the government and farmers.

Defra created the stakeholder group to come up with recommendations for pre-movement TB testing of cattle.

It's like trying to bail out a boat without doing anything about the leak Anthony Gibson, NFU

The government believes the measure could reduce the spread of bovine TB by livestock.

Devon has the highest number of farms with TB in England - so far this year there have been 262 new incidents of bovine TB in the county.

Many herds in Devon are on one or two-year routine screening and would fall under the proposals.

The scheme would be subject to review after a year, with the possibility of pre-movement testing for all animals over six weeks old.

Risk reduction

Badger groups have welcomed the measure, calling it a win-win situation.

Dr Elaine King, from the National Federation of Badger Groups, said: "It will protect the farmers from the risks of introducing infected cattle onto their farms. It will save the taxpayer over �5m and it will also reduce the risk of cattle infecting wildlife."

But the National Farmers' Union (NFU) believes pre-movement testing is only acceptable alongside badger culling.

Anthony Gibson, the South West regional chairman, said: "It's probably a sensible thing to do provided the other part of the problem is dealt with and that is the spread of disease from badgers into cattle in the first place.

"Unless you deal with that then you're constantly dealing with the result of the problem rather than the source.

"It's like trying to bail out a boat without doing anything about the leak."