Latest news with #Diddly Squat Farm
BreakingNews.ie
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Jeremy Clarkson ‘not enjoying farming this week' after bovine TB found on farm
Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has said he is 'not enjoying farming' at the moment, amid a week that has seen bovine tuberculosis found on his Diddly Squat Farm. The TV star, 65, said he is also dealing with 'a very sickly calf', and discovered that one of his puppies had died on Friday morning. Advertisement On Thursday, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that a pregnant cow had contracted the disease on his farm near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Bad news from Diddly Squat. We've gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated. — Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) July 31, 2025 Speaking to Times Radio Breakfast, he said: 'It's awful, it is awful. You have a test every six months on the cows and then you sort of become blase, 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.' Advertisement Cattle which fail a TB test, or animals that have inconclusive results for two consecutive tests, are classed as 'reactors', and must be isolated and slaughtered. Clarkson added: 'It's only been not even 24 hours since I found out and it occupies my mind. Well it was occupying my mind but I got up this morning and found one of my puppies has died. 'And we've got a very sickly calf. Honestly, farming? I'm not enjoying it this week.' Asked in the comments of his X post about the prize bull called Endgame, which Clarkson bought recently for £5,500, he said: 'His test was 'inconclusive'. I couldn't bear it if we lost him.' Advertisement In a follow-up post, he said: 'The farm is NOT shut. We just can't buy or sell any cows.' Jeremy Clarkson (Aaron Chown/PA) Bovine TB is recognised as a problem which devastates farm businesses and is mainly spread through close contact when cattle breathe in droplets of mucus containing Mycobacterium bovis bacteria exhaled from an infectious animal. Badgers can carry the disease and culling has long been a part of the Government response to the crisis, despite criticism from wildlife and animal welfare campaigners, such as Queen guitarist Sir Brian May. The Government said in June it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election. Advertisement Oxfordshire is an 'edge area' for bovine TB, meaning it is a buffer zone between high risk and low risk areas – so most herds are subject to six monthly TB tests by default. There have been several cases in the area of Oxfordshire near to Diddly Squat Farm in recent weeks, according to ibTB, a mapping platform for the disease in England and Wales. The every-day running of Clarkson's farm is documented in a Prime Video series, which first aired in 2021, and brings to light common problems faced by British farmers. Clarkson has become a vocal supporter of farmers and attended a protest in London against the UK government's move to introduce inheritance tax on farmland in November 2024. Advertisement
Times
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
‘It focuses the mind': Jeremy Clarkson on Diddly Squat's TB outbreak
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed the 'enormous' extent of the disruption caused by a 'bloody awful' bovine tuberculosis case on his farm. He said the unexpected TB diagnosis, the first for the television presenter, had thrown operations at Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire into disarray, admitting that he was on a 'very steep learning curve'. It has been a bad week for Clarkson, who also revealed that one of the 12 puppies in a litter by his dog Arya had died. His partner, Lisa Hogan, named the puppy on social media as 'Mr Grey', saying: 'Sad news this morning. Mr Grey has gone to fur and feather land.' TB testing on Thursday had found it was 'probable' that one cow at the farm had the respiratory disease, Clarkson said, and two other cows were suspected to be possible cases. His farm, made famous in the Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm, has what he calls a 'tiny herd' of nine cows, seven calves and one bull.
The Independent
01-08-2025
- Health
- The Independent
What to know about bovine tuberculosis as disease hits Diddly Squat Farm
Jeremy Clarkson 's Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds has been hit by an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) among its cattle. Clarkson announced on 31 July that the farm team was "devastated" after a pregnant cow contracted the disease, with tests for the beloved bull Endgame proving inconclusive. Following failed biannual tests for some cattle, the farm is now under restrictions, preventing the buying or selling of cows, though the Diddly Squat shop remains unaffected. The infected pregnant cow, carrying twins, will be culled, a decision Clarkson described as "awful" and emotionally distressing for the farm. Bovine TB is a chronic respiratory disease that primarily affects cattle, often leading to culling to control its spread, though human transmission is very rare. What is bovine tuberculosis? Everything you need to know about the disease affecting Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jeremy Clarkson ‘not enjoying farming this week' after bovine TB found on farm
Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has said he is 'not enjoying farming' at the moment, amid a week that has seen bovine tuberculosis found on his Diddly Squat Farm. The TV star, 65, said he is also dealing with 'a very sickly calf', and discovered that one of his puppies had died on Friday morning. On Thursday, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that a pregnant cow had contracted the disease on his farm near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Speaking to Times Radio Breakfast, he said: 'It's awful, it is awful. You have a test every six months on the cows and then you sort of become blase, 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.' Cattle which fail a TB test, or animals that have inconclusive results for two consecutive tests, are classed as 'reactors', and must be isolated and slaughtered. Clarkson added: 'It's only been not even 24 hours since I found out and it occupies my mind. Well it was occupying my mind but I got up this morning and found one of my puppies has died. 'And we've got a very sickly calf. Honestly, farming? I'm not enjoying it this week.' Asked in the comments of his X post about the prize bull called Endgame, which Clarkson bought recently for £5,500, he said: 'His test was 'inconclusive'. I couldn't bear it if we lost him.' In a follow-up post, he said: 'The farm is NOT shut. We just can't buy or sell any cows.' Bovine TB is recognised as a problem which devastates farm businesses and is mainly spread through close contact when cattle breathe in droplets of mucus containing Mycobacterium bovis bacteria exhaled from an infectious animal. Badgers can carry the disease and culling has long been a part of the Government response to the crisis, despite criticism from wildlife and animal welfare campaigners, such as Queen guitarist Sir Brian May. The Government said in June it will not be extending the badger cull and retains its commitment to end the practice before the next election. Oxfordshire is an 'edge area' for bovine TB, meaning it is a buffer zone between high risk and low risk areas – so most herds are subject to six monthly TB tests by default. There have been several cases in the area of Oxfordshire near to Diddly Squat Farm in recent weeks, according to ibTB, a mapping platform for the disease in England and Wales. The every-day running of Clarkson's farm is documented in a Prime Video series, which first aired in 2021, and brings to light common problems faced by British farmers. Clarkson has become a vocal supporter of farmers and attended a protest in London against the Government's move to introduce inheritance tax on farmland in November 2024.
