Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

The short answer is that there is no one single thing that can be done but there are multiple things that can be done. They will be difficult. The herd incidents are 5%, for example, which means 95% of herds do not currently have this disease. How do we stop the disease getting to those herds? It could mean restrictions on movements in positive herds or it could mean using technology. We know the possibility of vaccination is being explored in the UK but vaccination could have implications for trade. Historically, the difficulty with vaccination was that it was difficult to tell the difference between a vaccinated animal and a positive animal. There were surveillance complications, but they may have cracked that now.

There is the wildlife issue and an issue with deer. We are looking at all of those issues, but there has to be a step-up in action now. We are working with farmers through a TB forum.

However, some of what emerges might be contested. We really have to make sure we stop this disease spreading. A major cause of the spread is the farm-to-farm movement of animals.