Fears that fewer post-mortems carried out if laboratory numbers are halved

News that the Department of Agriculture is reviewing its laboratory services with closure of regional laboratories under consideration has alarmed farmers.

Each year, farmers bring about 10,000 fallen animals into the six regional veterinary laboratories for post-mortem. Fewer post-mortems would be carried out if laboratory numbers were halved and farmers had further to drive with carcases.

A working group on the issue recently concluded discussions and has begun drawing up its report. However, 10 days ago staff became aware of the direction of the proposals. Staff meetings were called early last week and the details presented.

There is staff opposition. The Veterinary Officers Association – which represents Department vets – has now stated it would rigorously oppose any reduction in service, warning that it could have catastrophic consequences for the food industry.

Yesterday, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney reacted, saying there were no plans to close any of these Labs. He said: “A committee was established to review the best way to provide services to farmers and this continues to be our priority. As would be expected they are looking at a range of options on how best to do this and will make their recommendations in due course. They will report back to me in a few months, but as Minister I can assure you that I have no intention of closing any of the Laboratories.”

The review by his Department got under way a year ago. Relevant data was gathered and an internal Department working group formed to consider it and draft a report and recommendations. Its members are: Mary Canty, AI; Mícheál Casey, SSRO; Ann Derwin, chief economist; Seamus Dunne, SI; Nick Finnerty, SI; John Griffin, SSVI; Tom Keating, SI; Tom Loftus, PO; Pat Meskell, SSVI; and Aidan Moody, SI. Professor Alan O’Reilly, former chairman of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, was asked to chair the group.

At last week’s impromptu meetings, staff heard that among the recommendations of the working group will be:

Backweston would operate as headquarters laboratory.

Athlone lab would be enhanced and extended.

A new facility would be built in Fermoy, Co Cork.

The remaining labs at Limerick, Cork, Sligo and Kilkenny would be retained in the short term as carcase collection sites. These would accept livestock from farmers for post-mortems but transport them on to Fermoy, Athlone or Backweston.

All testing functions would cease at these former labs.

Carcase collection sites would be staffed by two or three lab attendants and two clerical officers (currently, labs are staffed by 10 to 15 employees).

This network of labs would maintain the current disease surveillance function.

However, laboratory staff are concerned that carcase collection sites would not be maintained in the longer term. “The implementation time frame for such a plan after the Management Advisory Committee reached a decision would be five to 10 years,” one staff member told the Irish Farmers Journal. “However, maintenance of the labs to be downgraded would probably be minimal in the interim and that might possibly shorten the timescale. Eventually, carcase collection centres will be deemed unsustainable and the plug pulled.”

The individual said: “Farmers travelling from northwest Donegal or Co Mayo, or travelling from Clare or west Kerry, already have a long distance to travel to their regional laboratory. Those distances would be even greater if they must bring carcases to Athlone or Fermoy.

“Time is of the essence in getting a valid and meaningful post-mortem performed. These proposals would add at least another day to this process, resulting in decomposed animals in a large percentage of cases. This would have a detrimental effect on diagnostic rates for farm losses, and also on general disease surveillance. Many carcases would not be accepted for post-mortem or would be decomposed after being transferred to Athlone, Fermoy or Backweston.”

Veterinary staff from laboratories travel out to farms to investigate animal health issues in conjunction with private vets, the staff member said. “This, too, would be less feasible if the travel distances are greater. Any future investigation would only be for the larger, full-time farmer and would be infrequent.”

Significant sums of money have been spent over the past five years at regional laboratories on ensuring that post-mortem and laboratory facilities are at high standard, including effluent storage facilities, the staff member said.

Reaction

This week the Department of Agriculture said that a review was under way, but that a variety of proposals were being considered and that a report was expected in the autumn.

IFA’s animal health chairman Bert Stewart said that the service provided by the regional veterinary labs were more important than ever given that farmers are increasing herd sizes. “It is high-quality, independent and strategically located allowing timely submission of samples by farmers and their vets,” he said. “At a time when farmers are making big investments to raise the health status of the national herd the Department should be increasing resources for the service.”

The Veterinary Officers Association said that any such changes would have a major impact on the level of animal disease monitoring within the state.

It said: “Our current enviable animal health and food safety reputation would be put at serious risk. The current contingency plan for exotic disease control requires a response time of under two hours by RVLs and this could not be delivered under the new proposals. VOA will rigorously oppose any reduction in the RVL service which would potentially have catastrophic consequences for the entire agri-food industry.”

Farmers don’t drive far

In 2012 the Department analysed where the carcases submitted to its labs for post-mortem came from. Most came from herds within a 65km radius, predominantly from the county in which the lab was based and adjacent counties. “The coverage of the national herd provided by the strategic location of the RVLs is central to the operation of an effective animal disease surveillance network in Ireland,” the Department said in its All-island Animal Disease Surveillance Report 2011.

Background

The Department of Agriculture laboratory services carry out essential functions supporting public health and the food industry. They include:

A central laboratory complex at Backweston, Co Kildare.

Six regional labs with which farmers regularly interact. They provide diagnostic services to farmers, including post-mortems. They collect, collate and publish animal disease surveillance data.

Their locations are the Backweston site in Co Kildare, Coosan, Athlone; Bishopstown, Cork; Leggatsrath, Kilkenny; Knockalisheen, Limerick, Backweston, Kildare and Doonally, Sligo. There is a brucellosis lab in Cork and two regional dairy science labs at Limerick and Cork.