ICMSA wants compensation for TB ‘inconclusives’

THE ICMSA wants the TB regime to allow for voluntary removal of ‘inconclusives’ with compensation. Commenting on the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine announcement in relation to the treatment of TB inconclusive animals, deputy president of the ICMSA Lorcan McCabe said that a critical component is missing from the proposed strategy, that is to give farmers the option to remove an inconclusive when identified on a voluntary basis and be compensated under the live market valuation system.

“The system proposed by the department is going to involve additional red tape, time and costs for both the department and the farmers.

“That’s why ICMSA is calling for an additional option whereby a farmer can remove an inconclusive TB animal straight away from their herd with market compensation if that’s what they choose.

“If we are serious about reducing the levels of TB and in a context where the Department have identified inconclusives as a potential source, then ICMSA is firmly of the view that resources need to be allocated to the process upfront and providing a voluntary option of removing inconclusives would be a step in the right direction.

“We need to give farmers an incentive to remove inconclusives early and we can eliminate a potential source of future infection. The process of retesting inconclusive animals every six months and the cost and labour involved in such a process would easily exceed the costs and economic benefits of voluntary removal of inconclusive animals when identified,” said Mr McCabe. He said the inconclusive policy as currently structured will involve extra time and cost that could be better devoted to other issues.

ICMSA will repeat its call for a voluntary inconclusive removal policy at the next TB Forum concluded Mr McCabe.