Jeremy Clarkson has revealed his farm will be closed for two months due to an outbreak of tuberculosis.
The former Top Gear star, 65, announced on Thursday that Diddly Squat Farm in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, has “gone down” with the infectious disease for cattle from a pregnant cow.
He has now revealed the farm has been “locked down” while they wait to do another test on his beloved herd of cows to see if they are clear of bovine TB.
“It's awful, it is awful. You have a test every six months on the cows and then you sort of become blasé, it's a hypothetical threat,” he told Times Radio on Friday.
“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.”
Discussing the length of the closure, the Clarkson’s Farm star said: “Certainly two months because that's how long we have to wait before we do another test.”
Clarkson also confirmed one of his dog Arya’s newborn puppies has died.
“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,” he said.
Earlier this week, his longtime partner Lisa Hogan revealed Arya had given birth to a litter of puppies.
However, she announced on Friday: “Sad news this morning. Mr Grey has gone to fur and feather land.'
During his radio interview, Clarkson said of his herd of cows: “And we've got a very sickly calf. Honestly, farming? I'm not enjoying it this week.”
The former Grand Tour star confirmed his farm shop will be “unaffected” by the closure and remain open for business as usual.
His pub, The Farmer's Dog in Burford, which is 10 miles away from the farm, also remains open.
Clarkson announced the TB outbreak on X on Thursday.
“Bad news from Diddly Squat. We've gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated,” he penned.
The motoring journalist later shut down concerns that the outbreak may affect members of staff.
“I should clear this up really. It's Bovine TB that we have. It doesn't affect people, just our poor cows,” he clarified.
The animal that tested positive for bovine TB is a cow pregnant with twin calves.
Clarkson shared a heartbreaking video of the cow in distress on Instagram and wrote: “this is the poor cow that has bTB.
“She’s pregnant with twins and has been separated from her calf. And she will have to be culled. Small wonder she’s crying.”
bTB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, which can infect mammals including deer, goats and pigs, as well as cats, dogs.
According to gov.uk, bTB is respiratory and can be transmitted "through nose to nose contact and also through contact with saliva, urine, faeces and milk".
This is not the first time Diddly Squat farm has had a TB scare. In 2023, the broadcaster discovered TB-infected badgers at his Oxfordshire estate.
Last month, Clarkson admitted it looked like it will be the “worst year ever” for his 1,000-acre farm.
He said they have been struggling with a “shocking” harvest due to the heatwaves and drought sweeping across the UK.
"Last year, it was the second worst recorded ever, and we think this year is going to be even worse because it just hasn't rained,” he admitted.
