Minister Simon Coveney has said the findings of a recent pilot survey on the level of TB found in wild deer, does not suggest similar levels of tuberculosis (TB) is prevalent in deer nationwide.

The study, which was recently carried out by the Department of Agriculture, found that 16% of deer in the Calary area of Co Wicklow were found to be carrying TB.

The pilot study saw 103 deer in Wicklow shot by a licensed deer hunter and the carcases analysed. Of the 103 carcasses analysed, it was found that 87 did not carry TB, while 16 had “evidence of M. bovis”. M. bovis is a slow-growing, aerobic bacterium and the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle.

Response

Responding to a parliamentary question from Deputy Sean Fleming, Minister Coveney said there was no suggestion or evidence from the study to “support any claim that these findings would be replicated in other areas.”

He added that an examination of 17 wild deer in north Sligo, similar to the one carried out in Wicklow, found no evidence of infection with TB, although a small number of positive deer have been detected in isolated instances in different parts of the country.

The department has recently passed on the results of the survey of 103 wild deer to the Irish Deer Management Forum (IDMF) and is currently awaiting its recommendations. The IDMF comprises an independent chairperson with representation from stakeholder groups, including farming, forestry, conservation, hunting and other interest groups.

The IFA has long argued that the control of Ireland’s wild deer population is an important element in the eradication of the TB disease and has called for the implementation of a programme similar to the existing wildlife control programme.

The farmer’s representative body called for a “targeted reduction” in deer numbers surrounding TB outbreaks and a national management plan that reduces deer numbers to what is sustainable within their natural habitat.

IFA Animal Health chairman, Bert Stewart, added that they will have to wait and see what the department will do from the recommendations of the IDMF but that any tests carried out so far have not disproved a link between wild deer transmitting TB to cattle.