Written answers

Wednesday, 7 October 2020

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Tuberculosis Eradication Programme

Photo of John McGuinnessJohn McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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257. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 1033 of 29 September 2020, if his Department records will show that in this case the herd met the singleton protocol and the risk indicator is low to assist the herd owner to achieve the best value for their herd (details supplied). [29009/20]

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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In line with a proposal from the TB Forum, my Department recently developed individualised reports that provide a simplified TB herd risk category for farmers, with herd-specific advice on how to reduce risk of TB. Farmers are already provided with information in relation to their TB risk, but this new report presents this in a very much more user friendly, detailed and practical form. There are no requirements whatsoever resulting from the recent TB letters. The objective of TB Herd Test History Statements and Reports that issued recently to all cattle herd owners is to help them to reduce the risk of Bovine TB in their herds and provide sufficient information to enable farmers to make the decisions appropriate to their situation. The individual TB herd risk categorisation is not shared with other farmers nor is it compulsorily displayed on mart boards unless individual farmers wish to share their own herd’s categorisation. As stated previously herds de-restricted following one clear test under the singleton protocol (as was the case with this herd) are still considered to have experienced a TB breakdown.

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