Jeremy Clarkson said he is ‘absolutely devastated’ by the news (Picture: Amazon/Everett/Shutterstock)

Jeremy Clarkson said he has been forced to stop buying and selling cows at Diddly Squat farm after a case of bovine tuberculosis was detected.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is one of the biggest challenges facing the cattle farming industry in the UK, and all infected animals have to be put down.

The former Top Gear presenter, 65, shared news that the infectious disease had been detected in his cattle, in a post to X on Thursday (July 31).

‘Bad news from Diddly Squat,’ Clarkson wrote. ‘We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.’

When Clarkson clarified that by TB he meant bTB, @knox_ryder77 replied, saying they hoped the cows recovered soon. Clarkson then explained: ‘They have to be culled. It’s the law.’

Clarkson then appeared on Times Radio on Friday, to share that his farm will be shut down for two months after the outbreak – and also told listeners that he had woken up to discover one of his puppies has died.

The infected cow is pregnant with twins (Picture: Amazon Prime Video)

Clarkson previously saved the cow Pepper from the abattoir (Picture: Amazon Prime Video)

Speaking to radio presenter Peter Cardwell, Clarkson said of the bTB outbreak: ‘We’re now locked down and it’s just dreadful, absolutely dreadful.

‘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.’

Clarkson said the farm has to shut up shop for at least two months, until they can do another bTB test. He said the farm shop, featured in his Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm, will not be affected by the closure.

Jeremy would later take to X to stress that ‘The farm is NOT shut. We just can’t buy or sell any cows’.

The presenter yesterday shared that the ‘offending animal’ that had tested positive for bTB was pregnant with twins.

What is bovine tuberculosis?

Under British law, animals with bTB have to be put down because the disease is extremely contagious and can demolish large herds of cows.

bTB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. It can also infect badgers, deer, goats, pigs, llamas and alpacas – leading to the infamous case of Geronimo in 2021.

Cattle are tested for the disease because it is zoonotic, so can pass to humans, so staying on top of it limits the risk to the population.

The UK’s meat and dairy products would also not be accepted for exports if we didn’t have comprehensive bTB testing.

The disease spreads slowly in cattle, so they often do not exhibit symptoms before it is picked up.

When a follower asked after Endgame, an Aberdeen Angus bull that Clarkson bought in the show, the TV presenter said the cow’s test had been ‘inconclusive’.

He added: ‘I couldn’t bear it if we lost him.’

Clarkson has goats, pig and cows on the farm (Picture: Amazon Prime Video)

Clarkson had previously saved Pepper the cow from being sent off to an abbatoir, after initially going back on a promise he made to care for her to Rosie, the five-year-old daughter of Pepper’s former owner.

The TV presenter turned famed farmer and his partner, Lisa Hogan, were then left heartbroken when a group of piglets on the farm suddenly died.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press, Clarkson shared: ‘You don’t say, “Let’s buy some pigs and hope they die,” I’ve always liked pigs.’

‘I thought it would be fun to have them, and then they just died in alarming numbers.

‘It was just terrible. I mean, they still die, but we’re getting more used to it now, we’re a bit more robust.’

He added: ‘We’re a bit stronger at dealing with it now. But it was a very heartbreaking time.’

Metro contacted Jeremy Clarkson’s representatives for further comment.

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