Results 1-20 of 26 for badger cull speaker:Charlie McConalogue

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Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (27 Feb 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: ...total spend on vaccination in County Wicklow over the ten year period, it would not be possible to accurately provide a county specific expenditure report due to the structure in place around the badger vaccination programme, the travel expenses, consumables and contractor costs can not be limited to Wicklow only. I do want to reiterate that my Department is fully committed to the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (14 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: ...and challenging. There are three main sources of infection for cattle - the purchase of infected cattle, the presence of residual (undetected) infection within cattle herds and from wildlife (badgers predominately). The relative importance of these factors vary from herd to herd and all three need to be addressed to protect livestock and eradicate TB. Specifically on the issue of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Culls (11 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I would like to clarify that my Department does not use snares for the capture of badgers. All badgers captured are caught using a stopped body restraint. Badgers that are dispatched, are done so in a humane manner, either by the use of a licensed firearm or by the administration of IV barbiturates by a Veterinary Inspector. DAFM does not record if a badger is alive or dead in a restraint in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Culls (11 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There are a number of factors which can contribute to an outbreak of bovine TB. There is irrefutable evidence that links badgers to the spread of bovine TB through badger to cattle transmission. Many other juristictions cull badgers in order to control the spread of TB from badgers to cattle. DAFM, however, acknowledged that this is not a sustainable long term solution to the problem....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Culls (31 May 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: For the purpose of clarity, all badgers captured are caught using a stopped body restraint. My Department does not deploy snares. Badgers that are culled, are done so in a humane manner, either by the use of a licensed firearm or by the administration of barbiturates by a Departmental Veterinary Inspector. All badger carcasses are sent to either a contracted private or my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (23 May 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Since my Department began the widespread rollout of the badger vaccination programme in 2019 significant resources have been required in terms of manpower, supplies and services. My Department has funded these resources each year in line with requirements. In 2022 approximately €6.4 million was spent on the wildlife programme. Given the range of activities and varied workload that...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (23 May 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Under the TB Eradication Programme badger vaccination is being substituted for continued culling of badgers such that a significant reduction in the numbers of badgers culled can be achieved over the coming years while still maintaining effective control of the risk posed to other species. The intention is to gradually reduce badger culling per annum in tandem with the badger vaccination...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Culls (25 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department does not use snares to capture badgers. Our operatives use stopped body restraints under licence from the National Parks and Wildlife service. No badgers were found dead in stopped body restraints and all badgers in the attached spreadsheet were dispatched in accordance with the terms of our licence from the National Parks and Wildlife service. Badger vaccination is now an...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (20 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: ...with a TB breakdown. There are three main sources of infection for cattle - the purchase of infected cattle, the presence of residual (undetected) infection within cattle herds and from wildlife (badgers predominately). The relative importance of these factors vary from herd to herd and all three need to be addressed to protect livestock and eradicate TB. As of 16thApril 2023, on a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Badger vaccination is now an integral part of the Irish TB Eradication Programme. This follows over 15 years of research work using BCG vaccine to prevent tuberculosis infection in badgers, and scientific trials carried out between 2013 and 2017 that show that vaccination is no less effective than culling. In 2022, there were 7,245 badgers captured in vaccination zones. In 2023 to date,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (9 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: ...and challenging. There are three main sources of infection for cattle - the purchase of infected cattle, the presence of residual (undetected) infection within cattle herds and from wildlife (badgers predominately),. The relative importance of these factors vary from herd to herd and all three need to be addressed to protect livestock and eradicate TB. Specifically on the issue...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (9 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: ...TB is complex and challenging. There are three main sources of infection for cattle, the purchase of infected cattle, the presence of residual (undetected) infection within cattle herds. and wildlife (badgers predominately),The relative importance of these factors varies from herd to herd and all three need to be addressed to eradicate TB, and the national TB eradication programme....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Programmes (23 Nov 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: ...forms an integral part of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM) Bovine TB Eradication Strategy.  Supported by scientific research, the current policy is to vaccinate badgers to prevent disease outbreaks and to cull badgers where necessary in response to outbreaks in areas where epidemiological investigations have demonstrated the link between badgers and TB...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Culls (16 Nov 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: ...the Bovine TB (bTB) Eradication Programme my Department implements two main control strategies, removal and vaccination, in areas around the country where there have been epidemiological links to badgers and bovine TB breakdowns. The requested totals are provided in the table below: Year Total number of badgers captured in vaccination areas Total number of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (26 May 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: While wildlife are an important element in the complex epidemiology of bovine TB transmission and badgers are the primary wildlife focus in the bovine TB eradication programme. Research carried out on TB in deer in Ireland had found that in certain areas where there are high densities of deer, cattle and badgers living alongside each other, the same strains of TB can circulate between...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (10 Feb 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: ...the country. We are starting to see positive trends in this space with the work of the TB Forum and its working groups implementing the new TB Strategy which I launched in 2020. Vaccination of badgers has not yet been incorporated into the eradication programme in West Wicklow as the disease situation in the area is not yet suitable for vaccine use. The results of the field research...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (7 Dec 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: ...for the Bovine TB Stakeholders Forum by its Scientific Working Group which is composed of a panel of internationally recognised experts in TB research. The Scientific Working Group concluded that: - Badgers do contribute to bTB in cattle in Ireland, which is addressed through my Department’s badger vaccination and culling programmes operated under licence from the National Parks...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (2 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: ...in cattle previously exposed to bTB, but not identified at that point as being infected, spread across farm boundaries, indirect spread through biosecurity breaches, and spread from infected badgers into cattle. This research has recently been reviewed in its entirety for the Bovine TB Stakeholders Forum by its Scientific Working Group which is composed of a panel of internationally...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Veterinary Services (12 Oct 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Resources are applied to the Wildlife Programme in two ways; Technical agricultural officers oversee the surveying for badger setts in terms of finding those setts and determining the level of activity at those sites. They also oversee the capturing of badgers by contract staff for both badger culling and vaccination. Veterinary Inspectors anaesthetise and vaccinate badgers in the...