A Pencombe farmer stands to lose her herd of dairy cows to bovine tuberculosis.

Seven cows were taken to be slaughtered from Short-wood Family Farm on Friday, after the latest set of tests.

Janet Legge, who runs the organic farm with her family, said: "It's a very disturbing and heart-breaking situation. We've now lost 17 cows since November."

She said the latest loss, from a herd of 50, will be a major blow.

"It's not just a case of losing cows, we've raised them from calves, they're a product of 40 years of breeding," she said. "They were all in calf, so we've lost those too."

Cattle will be tested again in May and tests will continue until results are clear.

"There's quite a strong chance we could lose the whole herd," explained Mrs Legge. "It could happen that we lose so many cows, it's no longer viable to continue with what we have."

Mrs Legge said she believed badgers were the main carriers of bovine TB. However, as a protected species, badger culls are restricted.

Mrs Legge said she was concerned that badgers were left to pass on the disease, while cows were slaughtered.

"Why should the cow, that's working to produce food for the nation and a livelihood for farmers, be the one to be slaughtered in a vain attempt to control TB?" she said.

A DEFRA spokesman said measures for dealing with the disease depend on the situation but research taken after badger culls did not show improvements.

"We realise the disease causes a lot of anguish for farmers and we are keen to find a long term solution," he said.

Shortwood is well-known as it is open to the public throughout the summer, for visitors to get a hands-on feel of farming.