A ban on live exports, a curtailment of beef exports and a 150km animal movement zone would be some of the implications in the event of an outbreak of bluetongue in Ireland, the Teagasc beef conference heard on Tuesday night.

The implications would also be long-lasting, requiring several years to return to normal trading, Eoin Ryan from the Department of Agriculture said.

Hundreds of thousands of animals have already been lost in Europe and huge losses of sheep and cattle would also take place here if an outbreak occurred.

“There is a huge risk of introducing bluetongue infection via imported livestock, semen or embryos, despite the considerable controls that we have put in place.

“The virus continues to evolve with new strains, the latest being Bluetongue 12, which has just been identified in the last few weeks,” Ryan said.

Ryan was quizzed on bluetongue vaccination and he said that based on initial discussions with vaccine suppliers, he would be confident that Ireland could secure enough vaccines if required.

Irish AI companies have this week further heightened business risk mitigation strategies in the event of a bluetongue case occurring, with European AI companies already having been decimated by the effects of the virus.

The conference was one of the best attended in several years, with beef farmers in a positive mood.

They heard from a number of Teagasc specialists outlining technologies to help improve profitability on their farms.

An interesting point from Dr John Donlon, the Teagasc Grange-based research officer, was his caution around the use of nose paddles for weaning suckler calves.

The paddles have increased in popularity in recent years, but Donlon said he has seen some abrasions occurring in the noses of animals through use of the paddles and, on animal welfare grounds, he wouldn’t recommend their use.