Mr. Eoin Ryan:

I thank the committee for the invitation to attend. I am a senior superintending veterinary inspector in charge of TB policy in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I work with Mr. Colm Forde and Ms Paula Barry Walsh.

Regarding the Chairman's specific question on what is the focus on wildlife in the strategy, he is right that wildlife is a key part of the solution to reduce TB. There is a major focus on badger mediated TB. Badgers have been shown to be a source of TB in cattle for many years. Much research has been carried out in the field in Ireland which has shown that. For that reason, a programme was instituted in the early 2000s of culling badgers when there was a link between those badgers and outbreaks of TB in cattle. That culling programme is one reason TB levels decreased very significantly from the levels they were 20 years ago to the levels attained in the last decade.

However, culling badgers is not in itself sustainable, either ecologically or in disease terms. Considerable research was carried out by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, University College Dublin, UCD, and many other institutions in Ireland, which showed that vaccinating badgers is as effective as culling once one gets those severe TB outbreaks under control. Since 2018, vaccinating badgers has been part of our strategy and it is, in fact, a key element of the programme for Government relating to TB. It is a programme for Government commitment to increase badger vaccination. We have a major focus on vaccinating badgers to prevent spillover into cattle and, where necessary, we will continue to cull badgers where a serious outbreak has occurred in cattle which is linked to the local badger population. This is a much more sustainable approach.

Regarding the resources issue, the wildlife activity is very resource driven. There are additional resources being put into it. I will quote a few figures. For instance, in 2018 we vaccinated about 1,000 badgers and in 2019, we vaccinated more than 1,600, while we continued to carry out culling where necessary. It is not just a job for the Department but a joint partnership with farmers. The committee is aware that we have put major effort into communicating how farmers can co-operate with the Department but also protect themselves. For instance, we sent out a short message service, SMS, text with a link to a video entitled, How You Can Reduce Your Risk to Wildlife, to all farmers last year and again a few months ago. We got a tremendous response to that. Many farmers notified us where setts were and there was much positive co-operation at local level enabling us to be more jointly effective.

There are also things farmers can do themselves, such as securing feed stores. In fact, we have leaflets and videos on that. We get thousands of hits on our YouTube videos about making sure feed stores are badger proof and preventing badgers getting into the main silage and feed bins. This is an important thing that farmers can do. I agree with the Chairman that closing off that risk of transmission from badgers to cattle is critical. It is something the Department puts many resources into and is committed to more. It is also something in which farmers themselves can play a role. Our important job is to communicate the practical steps each farmer can take that are practical and reasonable on the ground. I am happy to go into more detail on badgers if the Chairman wants. I will move on to deer but am happy to come back to badgers if anybody wants.

On deer, the Chairman is right. We have heard the contributions from the farm organisations. There is no doubt at all that there is much concern about deer. Deer are part of the strategy, which is based on discussions with the farm organisations and other stakeholders at the TB forum. Those discussions informed what is in the strategy agreed with stakeholders. There was a TB forum meeting only a few weeks ago, again re-emphasising how we move forward with stakeholders.

As far as deer is concerned, where there are local concerns the Department is happy to test those deer for free and we do so. To cite a few figures, in 2019 we tested 233 deer submitted to our regional veterinary laboratories. These are not random deer, but ones specifically shot in an area where farmers are concerned those deer are transmitting TB to cattle. Of the 233 deer, only two tested positive. In 2020, 87 deer were submitted, fewer than previously, possibly due to Covid-19. Again, these were deer submitted specifically from areas where there were concerns they could be transmitting TB and only three were positive. In 2020, 40 deer were submitted from Offaly alone. There was quite a bit of concern that, in the Birr Castle area, deer could be responsible for TB outbreaks. Some 40 deer were submitted and none had TB. We are happy to continue with that because, there is no doubt about it, deer can and do get infected with bovine TB and infected deer can infect cattle.

As referred to earlier, a study carried out in Wicklow by the Department and UCD, with the co-operation of local stakeholders and the local IFA, found that 8.3% of deer on farmland, or ten out of 121, tested positive for TB. Zero deer out of 32 shot in the national parks had TB. However, the isolates from those deer were compared to isolates from cattle and badgers and they were essentially the same strains. I am summarising a very in-depth paper in the public domain which people can look into, but the same strain of TB was circulating in cattle, deer and badgers in this particular area of Wicklow. Many studies over the years have consistently shown a level of TB that is usually around 10% to 12%.

In areas outside Wicklow, we do not find that level of TB in deer. That is certainly not to say, of course, that it never happens. However, we know what causes bovine TB to spread and the principal factors responsible for it. The most important are cattle-to-cattle spread of TB, badger mediated TB and indirect transmission through contamination and so on. If, for instance, there is an area where people are concerned that deer are spreading TB to their cattle, the Department will continue to test those deer for free and communicate those results to local farmers. Where there are concerns, farmers can have those deer culled by applying for a section 42 licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

That is what we are doing on deer. When we say communication is a critical part of it, that means working locally with farmers where there is a concern and saying how we will go about testing, how we will give them the results back and how we will work together on that. That works so, for instance, in Kerry in 2019, 120 deer were tested for TB and none was positive. Of course, who is to say in a few months' time whether there will be some other area of concern and there will be positives. Where that happens, we can make sure that information is spread back.