Nearly every farmer in NI who keeps cattle has a personal story to tell about a dangerous incident at a TB test, the strict application of rules by DAERA officials or the financial implications of an outbreak in their herd.It has been going on for over 50 years, and despite all the various recent measures taken by DAERA to improve the quality of testing by private vets, and less tolerance around inconclusive animals, we are again seeing bovine TB rates on the increase in NI.
Nearly every farmer in NI who keeps cattle has a personal story to tell about a dangerous incident at a TB test, the strict application of rules by DAERA officials or the financial implications of an outbreak in their herd.
It has been going on for over 50 years, and despite all the various recent measures taken by DAERA to improve the quality of testing by private vets, and less tolerance around inconclusive animals, we are again seeing bovine TB rates on the increase in NI.
The latest figures for the eight months to August 2022 are an indictment of years of policy failure.
Annual herd incidence (number of new reactor herds as a proportion of those that were tested) is heading for 10%, while 9,706 cattle have been removed as reactors this year, up 12% on the same period in 2021. With more reactors, and higher cattle values, the taxpayer is facing a record bill for TB reactor compensation.
Experts
We have to do something different. Over the last eight years we have had some of the best scientific and veterinary experts come forward with proposals to eradicate TB in NI. There are things in their plans we might find unpalatable, such as cuts to compensation for reactor animals. But they are also clear that TB in wildlife must be tackled as part of an overall policy.
Of course, badgers are not solely responsible for TB spread, but they are part of the problem, and at last, there seems to be a willingness to actually implement a targeted cull.
This is an opportunity that must not be missed. Farmers need to engage with the TB Eradication Partnership meetings over the coming weeks, and indicate their willingness to sign up for levies on milk and beef. While none of us are keen to lock in more levies, it is much simpler to implement than the alternative of paying for TB testing.
Any significant opposition to the proposed levies will be seized on by those with an anti-cull agenda. Ultimately, if progress isn’t made, the pointless cycle we are all in will just continue. What a horrible prospect that is.
Read more
Badger TB vaccination rates steady as costs rise
Locked up with TB: ‘it takes over your life’
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