THE TB reactor calf at the centre of the row between Ogwell farmer Sheilagh Kremers and Defra is to be given a second chance. Agriculture minister Elliot Morley announced yesterday that the skin test carried out on the rare Dexter calf was flawed. The vet who administered the test has been suspended. Ms Kremer's court costs are to be paid and she may receive compensation for the anxiety she has suffered. Totnes MP Anthony Steen said: 'Its an amazing climbdown. Also it illustrates the openness and fairness of our democracy. 'I am very pleased that the government and the minister have seen to it that the evidence was examined and the animal is given another chance.' Ms Kremers, of New Park Farm, was elated at the news. 'It's fantastic news. I'm gobsmacked. It just shows you can do something,' she said. Ms Kremers has received widespread support from the farming community for her refusal to allow the calf to be slaughtered after it tested positive from a skin test before Christmas. The case has received widespread media coverage and led to questions being asked in the House of Commons. Mr Steen has supported Ms Kremer's demand for a second test. 'I have constantly said there is something wrong here and we need to look at it.' He said that Defra had resisted offering a second chance as it would open the floodgates to similar demands from farmers up and down the country. The calf, Fern Mous'l, will be given a second skin test. Ms Kremers said she would prefer the polymerase chain reactor test, currently being studied by the University of Warwick and originally developed by the American military. 'Once the antigens are in the blood, it is more likely to test positive,' she said.
