Jeremy Clarkson forced to cull Diddly Squat’s first calf after TB outbreak

Jeremy Clarkson culled the first calf born on his farm due to a tuberculosis outbreak. Photo / Getty Images

Jeremy Clarkson has been forced to cull the first calf born on his Diddly Squat farm after a tuberculosis outbreak.

The former Top Gear host, 65, posted a picture of the cow and revealed it had been pregnant with twins when it caught Bovine tuberculosis (TB) and had to be killed.

“This was the first calf ever born at Diddly Squat,” he wrote on his Instagram. “And this morning she was destroyed, while pregnant with twins, because she has TB. So sad.”

Hundreds of fans of his hit Amazon series, Clarkson’s Farm, offered their condolences with one saying: “That’s so sad. I remember the joy and excitement from you all when she was born.”

Another said: “So sorry for your loss but know you did the right thing,” while another added: “Please give this man and this farm and the animals a break!”

Some 40,000 cattle culled every year

It is the latest blow to Clarkson and the running of his 404.6ha farm documented through the series as he tries to make the business profitable.

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In July he announced that he may have to cull his beloved cows after TB tests were inconclusive.

When announcing the outbreak during the summer, he told a well-wisher who hoped his herd recovered soon: “They have to be culled. It’s the law.”

Responding to another who said he hoped Clarkson’s new prize-winning Aberdeen Angus bull, Endgame, would be spared, the broadcaster said: “His test was ‘inconclusive’. I couldn’t bear it if we lost him.”

The infectious disease, often affecting cattle and badgers, often results in the culling of every animal that tests positive.

Some 40,000 cattle are culled every year as a result of bovine TB infection, causing devastation to farmers. More than 21,000 animals were killed because of a TB incident in England between April 2024 and March this year.

Numerous challenges

Culling an entire herd has been described as “one of the most distressing things that farmers will go through” by Baroness Coffey, the former Environment Secretary.

Last year, the presenter-turned-farmer was visited by police after activists reportedly blocked badger setts on his land, which is illegal under UK wildlife law.

He insisted that his defence was that he had shot all the badgers, which spread TB on farms, under licence.

Clarkson has previously ranted on the show about the threat of TB for his cattle from the “b------d badgers”.

Clarkson bought the Diddly Squat Farm in 2008, but it was run by a villager until his retirement in 2019, after which the veteran broadcaster decided to see if he could run it himself.

Over the years, he has faced numerous challenges, including bad weather damaging crops, piglets being accidentally squashed dead by their mothers and planning battles with his council over the building of a restaurant.

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