Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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169. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider examining the feasibility of reintroducing the grey wolf species as a cost effective alternative or additional measure to the BTB eradication programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25899/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (the IUCN) have developed Guidelines on Reintroductions and Conservation Translocations. These guidelines were developed by conservation experts and practitioners and they provide the benchmark for international best practice in this field.

The IUCN document sets out an initial checklist for those considering a reintroduction project such as the grey wolf. One of the first requirements is that:“There should be strong evidence that the threats that caused any previous extinction have been removed.”

The National Parks & Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht have advised my Department that any feasibility assessment for the reintroduction of the grey wolf to Ireland would fall at this first hurdle as there is limited evidence that the causes of its previous extinction have been removed.

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 them. However, there is currently no evidence that deer play a significant role in the spread of TB to cattle in most parts of Ireland.