Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

Before I ask Dr. Fanning to come in, because she is the expert, we had a similar issue with brucellosis a number of years ago, which seemed equally intractable and was going on for decades. We now have brucellosis-free status. Therefore, it is possible to do these things, but it is not easy. Some of the things we might have to do may be unpopular and some may be costly. Our approach now, however, because I do not think it can be done any other way, is to try to work with farmers through a TB forum to try to agree on measures. If we try to impose measures on the people who are affected by this disease without consultation, it tends not to work very effectively. Sometimes, we might be able to eradicate this disease by taking extreme measures, for example, which would not wash politically with farmers or farm bodies. There is a degree of fairness involved. We have to work with farm bodies on what is possible.

I will ask Dr. Fanning to comment on the international comparison if it is not imposing too much of a burden on her.