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Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party have committed to ending badger culling “as soon as possible” as part of the programme for government.
Details of the 14-page document dealing with agriculture were revealed on Sunday by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Among the promises in the animal welfare section of the document is a promise to extend the badger vaccination programme nationwide as an alternative to culling.
Consistency
The document stresses that this will be done “consistent with the best scientific and veterinary advice”.
The vaccination of badgers against TB as an integral part of Ireland’s TB programme began in February 2018 following extensive field trials.
As of late 2019, the area subject to vaccination had increased from just under 8,000km2 to almost 18,000km2, with plans for further increases.
The move will form part of the wider commitment to introduce a TB 2030 eradication strategy.
The strategy is preceded by the work of the TB forum in the first half of 2019. It produced a number of recommendations to accelerate the eradication of TB in Ireland.
It comes as progress under the TB programme, originally rolled out in the 1960s, has stagnated. TB incidence has remained below 4% for the last number of years, but the Department of Agriculture has warned further decreases will require a different approach.
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