Department 'greatly exaggerating' impact of animal movements on TB - IFA

The extent with which animal movements contribute to the rise in TB has been greatly exaggerated by the Department of Agriculture, IFA animal health chair TJ Maher has said.

Speaking at Thursday night's TB meeting in Corrin Mart, Co Cork Maher accepted that some bovine animals which move to new holdings may introduce TB to the herd.

"No studies have been presented to IFA that show animal movements contributing to TB introduction to farms that warrant the emphasis the DAFM are putting on this issue in the TB programme.

"Accepting the need to also address this source of TB introduction, the measures must be proportionate, targeted, and practical to implement at farm level," Maher said.

The IFA has proposed measures that address this issue in a proportionate and practical way while protecting the credibility of the tests and the market access requirements our export trade adheres.

Resources

Maher raised concerns in relation to the Department’s capacity to adequately resource the current TB eradication programme.

"The resources in this respect that we are specifically referencing are the staff resources across all sections of the TB programme: veterinary, technical and administrative.

"There are currently over 6,000 herds restricted, over 40,000 animals removed from our herds in the past 12 months yet the DAFM staff allocation to the TB programme in several areas is less than that attributed when we had fewer than 20,000 TB reactors and under 4,000 herds restricted," he said.

Maher said that is a futile process agreeing enhancements to the programme if the Department cannot be implemented in a timely, effective and consistent way on the ground.