Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that the Department will play a positive role in testing any culled deer with regard to this possibility. I agree that deer are considered to be spillover hosts as opposed to maintenance hosts. Professor Simon More was before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and we had an intensive discussion on the epidemiology of it. No conclusive scientific connection is believed to exist between deer and the spread of TB, notwithstanding that they are localised areas. This is the problem and this is apparently prevalent in New Zealand, North America and parts of the UK. Nevertheless, I urge the Minister to focus on it, especially in the area of Wicklow that he referred to. Other areas in the country are sporadically affected. Notwithstanding that there is not scientific evidence, there is anecdotal evidence from people that deer can act as a host in the spread of TB. That may just be somebody speculating but I am glad that the Department is on top of it and that it is running that study in conjunction with Professor More from UCD.

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