Anger over TB risk letters to farmers
FRUSTRATION and annoyance from the farming community is the message that Cllr Shay Cullen has been receiving from all over Co Wicklow in the last few days since the Department of Agriculture issued new TB Risk letters detailing the history of TB in their herd, and offering advice on how to fight it.
Farmers have accused the Government of bringing in herd categorisation by the ‘ back door’, having failed to agree the matter during TB Forum negotiations. It’s claimed the risk letters will devalue livestock and are a breach of GDPR because they contain information on herds a farmer has previously bought from.
Cllr Cullen, the Cathaoirleach of Wicklow Municipal District, said: ‘I have been inundated by calls and emails since these letters from the Department have been delivered to farms across the county.
‘Wicklow unfortunately suffers from a high percentage of TB and farmers are feeling let down by the Department of Agriculture for the lack of support or initiatives to deal with the problem throughout the county. Farmers individually can only do so much to eradicate the problem, Unfortunately the problem of TB in cattle
cannot be eradicated by individual farmers no matter what they do. It needs a major scheme backed by the Department and not just useless letters.’
The Department has developed individualised reports that provide a simplified TB herd risk category for farmers, with herd-specific advice on how to reduce risk of TB.
Bovine TB statistics for Quarter 2 of 2020 released by the Department show that Wicklow West and Wicklow East, along with Louth, have the highest herd incidence when compared to the national 12-month rolling average of 4 per cent. However, these regions combined represent 2 per cent of the national herd.
The latest figures up to June 2020 show that there were 1,065 herds in East Wicklow, with 574 tested. There were 3,030 reactors, resulting in a 12-month rolling average of 10.11 per cent. There are 523 herds in West Wicklow, 300 of which were tested. There were 333 reactors, which is a rolling average in a year of 13.97 per cent.
Cllr Cullen is calling on the Department to be more proactive when it comes to combating TB levels.
He said: ‘ The Department of Agriculture research has shown high levels of TB in deer and badger population in Wicklow and by ignoring this problem we are leaving a health issue in the wildlife and in our cattle population. And whilst we are testing and removing cattle from herds that have been identified as carriers of TB, with no scheme for the wildlife, the health of those animals suffer and the of spread TB continues with cross contamination being an ongoing problem. The Department has to put in steps to have a two-pronged scheme in order to get control of this disease. Farmers at this stage are losing faith with the Department of Agriculture as this problem is costing them and the tax payer up to €90 million a year and we are no clearer to solving this problem.’