Farmers for Action (FFA) has claimed that the CEO of Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI), Dr. Sam Strain, said that implementing all of the proposals made in the review of bovine tuberculosis (TB) at once, would “decimate Northern Ireland’s cattle industry”.
In November 2024, the chief veterinary officer (CVO), Brian Dooher, released the review to tackle TB in Northern Ireland.
The CVO’s report contains over 40 proposals, and has drawn criticism from some farming organisations.
FFA said that Dr. Strain told a meeting organised by the farmers’ group that he couldn’t argue with anything the CVO had put in the proposal.
Following the report, the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA), has established a new tuberculosis partnership steering group.
Speaking about the group, Dooher said: “The establishment of this steering group is the start of our journey to control and eradicate this disease in Northern Ireland.
“The tuberculosis partnership steering group will represent a wide range of backgrounds and experiences relevant to driving forward the eradication of bovine TB,” he added.
TB
Speaking at an information evening hosted by the FFA steering committee in Cookstown, Dr. Strain explained the role badgers play in TB transmission.
Dr. Strain also explained that current TB tests on cattle were not 100% accurate, but have allowed a number of other countries across the world to eliminate the illness.
He estimated that 92% of TB transmissions are cattle-to-cattle, whereas 8% are from badgers.
Badgers create a new infection chain that looks like an inverted pyramid, with the badger acting as the new infection spreader to the first animal at the bottom of the pyramid, according to Strain.
Sean McCauley of FFA said: “All the tools in the box described by Dr. Strain must be used and to leave one tool out – we are going round in circles. Currently that one tool is lack of infected badger control.
“The FFA’s focus from here forward will be to inform environmentalist Minister Muir the direction he must travel with TB by March and why,” McCauley concluded.
