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Two of the six places remain to be filled on a new TB eradication partnership group being set up to advise the chief vet, Robert Huey, and colleagues in DAERA, on the operation of a bovine TB eradication policy in NI.
The establishment of the group was among the recommendations from the report published in December 2016 by the TB strategic partnership group which set out a long-term plan to rid NI of the disease. It suggested that a new expert group should be made up of an independent chair, two farmers, a practising vet, a scientist, a processor representative and a nature conservationist.
Once up and running, it would be advised by regional partnerships and, at a local level, disease response teams.
Members of the new TB eradication partnership group were introduced at a DAERA breakfast event at Balmoral Show last week, with the Department describing the new initiative as a “fresh approach” to bovine TB.
The chair of the previous TB Strategic Partnership Group, Sean Hogan, is the chair of the new group. He has been joined by Seamus O’Kane from Parklands Veterinary Group, Dr Sam Strain, the chief executive of Animal Health and Welfare NI, and two Co Down farmers, David Rea from Crossgar, and Adrian Patterson from Hillsborough. Rea is a dairy farmer, a qualified vet, and currently serves on the Dale Farm board. Patterson is largely unknown in farming circles, running a small herd of pedigree Hereford cattle.
That leaves the positions of a processor representative and a nature conservationist unoccupied. DAERA is to discuss with the new TB eradication partnership group how these two positions might be filled.
Welcome
The establishment of the new group was given a guarded welcome by Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president Ivor Ferguson who described it as a small step forward.
“We have requested an early meeting with the group to ensure they fully grasp farmers’ position and to see what additional disease control measures can be implemented without a negative impact on farm businesses,” he said.
However, while DAERA has fulfilled the requirement to put two farmers on to the new group, neither are prominent members of the UFU, and in a strong position to keep the union onside.
That is in contrast to the previous TB strategic partnership group where two former UFU presidents, John Thompson and Campbell Tweed, were among the four group members.
It is understood that both unsuccessfully applied to be members of the new TB eradication partnership group.
New TB test approved in England
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in England has announced that the Actiphage test has been approved for “exceptional private use” in England.
The test can detect the presence of live mycobacteria that cause TB from blood or milk samples and provides results in six hours.
Under APHA’s exceptional private use protocol, Actiphage can be used on a few large, persistently infected herds. Further trials are required before it can be approved for standard veterinary use.
The new Actiphage test is based on research conducted at the University of Nottingham and has been brought to market by Suffolk-based company, PBD Biotech.
As well as producing much more rapid results, it has the added benefit that it can distinguish between a vaccinated and an infected animal. That potentially paves the way for new types of disease control in the future.
The test has also been used in trial work by Devon vet Dick Sibley.
He was in NI at the start of the year discussing his work, at a meeting organised by the Pedigree Cattle Trust.
Pedigree Trust message to UFU on tackling TB
Speaking at a breakfast event at Balmoral Show, the chair of the Pedigree Cattle Trust, Brian Walker, came with a message for the Ulster Farmers’ Union, urging NI’s largest farm lobby organisation to take a more strategic approach to tackling the disease.
“Bring the best experts on eradicating this disease to NI. No one listens unless you have expert veterinary advice, and that comes at a premium” he said.
Critical
He was critical of DAERA inaction, particularly around the issue of TB in wildlife, and questioned why the Department cannot pursue a cull of TB infected badgers at present, with or without the sign-off from a minister.
“It is incomprehensible that the Department fail to cull infected wildlife at the same time as they cull infected cattle. This is particularly so since there is well established science to suggest that badgers are much more efficient in transmitting infection of the disease than cattle are in the same process,” he said.
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