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Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has been called on to overhaul the TB forum by IFA president Tim Cullinan.
Cullinan said the forum had “failed farmers”, with the recent issuing of TB risk letters further underlining issues in the programme.
“The TB herd risk letters, persecuting farmers who have already suffered losses due to TB, must be withdrawn. These letters are a typically bureaucratic response by the Department, seeking to avoid addressing the real issues and keeping the TB industry going,” he said.
The decision to include the current status of other herds that farmers had previously purchased from was a clear breach of data protection, he added. The IFA has lodged a formal complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner.
Burn it
Cullinan’s comments come as the IFA escalated its campaign to highlight what it believes is the Department’s failure to meaningfully address problems in the TB eradication scheme.
On Friday evening, Cullinan along with vice president Brian Rushe and IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell, burned the Department letters on Farrell’s farm in Athy Co Kildare.
Farrell said: “This move by the Department, along with statements that have been included in the letters, raise very serious issues for these farmers who, through no fault of their own, have had TB cases. It could have implications for selling cattle and calves from their farms.
“These farmers have already suffered enough without blacklisting them.”
Costs
He warned that farmer contributions of €35m to the programme annually along with an estimated labour cost of €20m were under threat unless the Department started showing farmers respect.
Among the IFA proposals to eradicate TB are an effective wildlife control programme, on-farm investigations to identify outbreak sources, removal of all disease from the herd, and fair financial support for farmers while farms are under Department controls.
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