The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has told Northern Ireland’s chief veterinary officer (CVO), Brian Dooher, that farmers want to see “more intensive measures” adopted to address the “TB crisis that is rapidly escalating”.
The UFU said today (Wednesday, December 18) that the organisation has conveyed to the CVO that farmers in Northern Ireland “are desperate for positive change”.
The UFU met with the CVO to discuss, in person, his recent Review of Bovine Tuberculosis in Northern Ireland report, which was published last month.
The organisation has been critical of the report because it said it contains “no meaningful action” to deal with TB
UFU
According to the UFU’s deputy president, Glenn Cuddy, the CVO told the organisation that the TB review “is still in draft form” and will provide “guidance” to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir.
The organisation has highlighted that the current TB testing system in NI has been largely unchanged for over 50 years.
During the meeting with the CVO Cuddy said that concerns were raised about the “lack of communication on research into improved testing methods” and that UFU members had also questioned why outdated protocols persist.
Cuddy added: “Our UFU members are knotted with frustration at the lack of grit within DAERA to take a system that has been failing farmers for decades, and to make meaningful changes.
“They stressed the need for a much clearer explanation of the current system’s limitations, and that this information must be used to progress towards more effective alternatives.”
TB
One of the key issues spotlighted by the UFU in relation to the CVO’s TB review is what it pointed to as “the extremely limited focus on an effective eradication programme that addresses all sources of infection”.
According to the UFU annual herd incidence has risen from 10.15% to 10.41% in just two months, while animal incidence has risen to 1.158%.
“Alarmingly, the detection of lesions at routine slaughter has surged to 4.5 per 1,000 animals in 2024.
“These statistics not only flag a high level of urgency, but prove it is not enough to only have biosecurity measures in place,” it has warned.
During the meeting between the UFU and the CVO a number of other key issues in relation to TB were discussed including “wildlife intervention”, a proposed Test-Vaccinate-Remove (TVR) approach and the financial costs of the TVR.
Brian Dooher‘s TB Review also had a particular focus on the dairy sector and underlined the fact that NI’s standard dairy herd size has tripled.
Cuddy said: “Worryingly, 3% of dairy herds accounted for 27% of reactors in the past year.
“While the UFU recognises the importance of addressing these findings, our members believe the level of scrutiny placed on the sector is disproportionate and risks damaging the industry unfairly.
“We also emphasised that the current programme is a testing programme, not a control programme, underlining the urgent need for a shift towards a strategy that effectively tackles the disease.”
