Concerns that bringing unsold cattle back from marts could jeopardise a herd’s TB risk status have been raised by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmer's Association (ICSA).

In the coming days, the Department of Agriculture will be sending letters to farmers that contain their herd’s TB risk prolife and place them in a risk category.

One section in the report alerts farmers to what the Department considers “at risk animals” in the herd. These include inconclusive animals that passed a retest, clear animals that were alive during a previous breakdown and animals returned from the mart unsold.

It is tantamount to dragging farmers back to the days of the fair, where they were vulnerable to being short-changed

A sample herd profile published by the Department states: “If you bring unsold animals back from the mart, you cannot consider your herd a closed herd.”

Marts

The ICSA said this was an extraordinary statement that it found “objectionable on several levels.”

ICSA animal health chair Hugh Farrell said: “We have not seen any scientific research to underpin this. Worse, it will be seen as an assault on the mart trade and will interfere with the right of a seller to decide whether a fair price is being offered.

“It is tantamount to dragging farmers back to the days of the fair, where they were vulnerable to being short-changed.”

Close contact

Explaining its rationale, the Department said: “If you have animals in your herd that returned home unsold from the mart, they are at higher risk of developing TB, because while at the mart, they will have come into contact with other animals from different herds of different risk categories.”

TB is spread through close contacts with other animals, the Department said. It advised farmers to consider slaughtering these animals “as soon as practical”.

This letter has seriously set back the prospect of a collaborative approach to the TB programme

Farrell also raised other concerns about the letter, including the potential devaluation of cattle, issues around GDPR and the 10 year time period used to assess herds.

Setback

“This letter has seriously set back the prospect of a collaborative approach to the TB programme and will be met with farmer fury. Farmers are already asking me if this has been slipped through in the absence of a Minister in the Department, and it will be a key agenda item for whoever is appointed,” Farrell concluded.

Read more

20,000 farms classed as high-risk TB herds

Farmers to receive personalised TB risk profiles in coming days