ANNEX - CATTLE TB IN NORTHERN IRELAND
AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Cattle TB is a significant problem in the island
of Ireland, where there are extremely few disease-free areas.
However the incidence of TB in Northern Ireland has shown a steady
decrease in recent years. In 2002 the annual TB herd incidence
was 9.93% and in 2006 the annual TB herd incidence was 6.23%.[241]
The Northern Ireland TB Control Programme includes
the annual testing of all animals (with restrictions imposed on
herds of farmers that do not comply) and the removal of reactors
within 15 days. The cornerstone of the TB strategy is the Animal
Public Health Information Service (APHIS) which provides a real-time
computerised cattle tracing system for Northern Ireland and is
accessible by vets, farmers and government officials. Every animal
is registered on the system with a unique number. The results
of TB herd tests, post mortems and all cattle movements are recorded
on the system, and can be viewed online. Farmers are able to use
APHIS to give advance notice of the movement of animals to market
or abattoir.
The Programme does not address the issue of the wildlife
reservoir, but the Badger Stakeholder Group, led by the Department
of Agriculture and Rural Development, with membership from the
farming community, environmentalists, veterinarians, and academia,
has recently commissioned a badger population survey to establish
data on badger numbers and their local distribution. The survey
will report in May 2008. [242]
The Republic of Ireland also has a system of annual
testing of the national herd, with primary responsibility for
arranging testing, negotiating terms and paying for certain tests
assigned to farmers. Great emphasis is placed on the importance
of research into the development of a vaccine.[243]
The Republic of Ireland has also implemented a badger
removal programme to tackle TB in wildlife, based on the results
of two research projects (the east-Offally project and the four-area
study) which had indicated a link between tuberculous badgers
and the incidence of TB in cattle and which had suggested that
badger removal resulted in a decline in the incidence of cattle
TB in herds in the removal areas. Badgers are captured under licence,
provided that the Veterinary Inspectorate (of the Department of
Environment, Heritage and Local Government) has found that badgers
were the likely source of infection in a serious outbreak in a
cattle herd.
241 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Quarterly Disease Report, Bovine brucellosis (BR), bovine tuberculosis
(TB) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), Quarterly Update:
April-June 2007 Back
242
http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-dard/news-dard-151007-badger-population-survey.htm Back
243
http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/publicat/publications2007/ARO/ARO_English.pdf Back
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