Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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200. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide figures on farm animal fatalities for 2013; the way these figures compare to the previous five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26090/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The number of on-farm cattle fatalities for the period Jan – April 2008-2013 is as follows:

Information on deaths of other species is not recorded.

As will be seen from the data provided, mortality figures fluctuate from year to year. The reasons for annual variation include disease challenges, environmental factors, including weather related and fodder related issues, as well as population fluctuations and other issues including the national compulsory BVD eradication programme which recommends that persistently infected (PI) calves are culled as soon as possible after being identified. The Deputy will be aware too of the efforts that my Department and other stakeholders have been making to deal with the fodder crisis that we have seen in recent weeks and those efforts are continuing.