Hundreds of additional TB inconclusive cattle could be culled each year under the new approach being taken by the Department of Agriculture to speed up elimination of the disease.

The Department has clarified that approximately 2,000 cattle per year test inconclusive and that an estimated 20% – about 400 animals – are truly infected and continue to spread TB in the herd.

They may repeatedly retest falsely negative due to immunosuppression, according to Department officials.

Speed up removal

Until this year, herd owners could only move these inconclusives directly for slaughter and were advised by the Department to cull them.

This year, the Department revised its "internal management guidance" for TB to speed up removal of such cattle.

It says that when a breakdown occurs, cattle which previously tested inconclusive within the herd should be removed as in-contacts, with compensation payable.

This year the Department revised its "internal management guidance" for TB to speed up removal of inconclusive animals. \ Philip Doyle

It also says that when four or more inconslusives are found at a herd test, they should be deemed reactors, with compensation payable.

The Department says that it has informed the stakeholders in the TB Forum of its new internal management guidelines, as part of its ongoing communications with them.

Compensation

However, while the farm orgainsations accept that inconclusives are high-risk animals, they see the issue linked to compensation.

IFA animal health chair Pat Farrell this week warned the Department that removing bigger numbers of cattle at inadequate compensation rates increased the costs on farmers of participating in the TB eradication programme and that this could not continue.

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