One thing that we all can agree on is that the current level of TB among cattle in NI is totally unsustainable.

How we got to a point where rates of disease are probably the highest of any country in the developed world is due to a number of factors.

But fundamentally, it comes down to the stand-off between farmers and the Department over government inaction on the reservoir of TB in wildlife.

It is the reason why repeated government attempts to cut compensation for reactor cattle and introduce tighter controls in TB breakdown herds have failed.

Finally, in 2022, it looked like the impasse might be broken with DAERA publishing a TB eradication strategy that included a plan to cull badgers by controlled shooting (paid for by farmers) in TB hotspot areas. Those plans hit the buffers in October 2023 thanks to a legal challenge, mainly driven by anti-cull protestors from England.

Since then, there seems to be little appetite within DAERA to revisit the issue, despite it being recommended by various expert groups and shown to be effective in both England and the Republic of Ireland.

Instead what we have now is chief vet, Brian Dooher, coming forward with some sort of plan to roll-out a Test : Vaccinate : Remove (TVR) approach in limited areas of NI.

Research into TVR was carried out in a 100km2 area of Co Down between 2014 and 2018. It sounds great in theory – catch badgers, vaccinate the healthy ones and cull those with disease – but it is very costly to do and will result in small numbers being removed. Over the five years of TVR, just 108 badgers were culled.

Even if it were a realistic means of driving down TB in wildlife across NI, it won’t be happening any time soon, with Minister Muir committed to a public consultation. He also will need to find a magic money tree to pay for TVR.

In the meantime, the pressure is now really on farmers from DAERA, to agree to tougher TB controls. Something has to change, but it is shameful that many years of dithering by politicians and government officials has left farmers in this position.