Mart boards 'the fastest way to TB eradication'

A senior Department vet has said that the fastest way to TB eradication would be to implement a risk-based trading system. One such proposed system is through placing a herd’s 10-year TB history on a mart board.

Speaking at a joint Oireachtas Agriculture Committee meeting on Tuesday, Michael Sheehan, deputy chief veterinary officer, said research by UCD would suggest it was the quickest way to eradicate TB by 2030. He said the Department was considering the proposal as part of the ongoing TB forum.

However, both senators and TDs expressed major concerns about the inclusion of TB history on mart boards. Fine Gael’s Pat Deering, chair of the committee, said farmers, and particularly suckler farmers, would have their stock devalued as a result.

Fianna Fáil senator Paul Daly said that farmers, regardless of their TB history prior to a breakdown, may as well “close the gate for the next 10 years if their stock contracted TB”.

Sheehan said that TB controls last year cost the state €85m and a further €1bn in costs would be incurred by 2030. He said without making difficult decisions, Ireland would be no closer to eradication.

New Zealand

He pointed to New Zealand, where a risk-based trading system was already in place. In New Zealand, farmers are categorised based on their risk and high-risk herds can only trade with other high-risk herds.

Sheehan acknowledged there were pros and cons to a mart board system. He said the Department knew with “a good degree of accuracy” what the risk of buying from certain herds was and that it was a question of whether the buyer had the right to know that information. Senator Daly said that while farmers wanted to eradicate the disease, there was no point helping one side if it meant putting someone else out of business.

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