Farmers with herds which have a high TB risk will have to test cattle before selling them at the mart or farm-to-farm under the Department of Agriculture’s draft TB strategy to 2030, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.

Herds with a history of several breakdowns or a large extended breakdown have a higher risk of another TB outbreak after they go clear and are a risk to neighbouring herds, according to the strategy.

New EU regulations due to come into force in April 2021 will also require farmers to pre- or post-movement test cattle for TB

“Cattle moving out of these herds will be required to have a pre-movement test in the 30 days preceding the movement, in order to address the risk of undetected infection spreading to the recipient herd,” it says.

Pre-movement testing is one of a range of measures in the strategy to drive down TB levels and eradicate the disease.

New EU regulations due to come into force in April 2021 will also require farmers to pre- or post-movement test cattle for TB, unless both the animal and the herd of origin were TB tested in the preceding six months.

The draft TB strategy says that there will be a phased introduction of the EU ruling, and it will be in consultation with the TB Forum.

High-risk farms

In August, farmers were issued with a TB risk profile letter for their herd and each herd was classified on the basis of how long it was TB-free and how many breakdowns it had over the previous 10 years.

Almost 20,000 farms are classed as high risk, with herds currently locked down or those free of TB for less than three years considered high risk. Department figures show that 2,000 herds are locked down, while 17,500 have had a breakdown in the last three years.