Northern Ireland’s Pedigree Cattle Trust (the Trust) has called for the introduction of an all-Ireland bovine tuberculosis (bTB)-eradication strategy.

This radical proposal is contained with the Trust’s response to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs' (DAERA's) public consultation,  looking at ways of tackling the bTB problem.

A spokesperson for the Trust said:

“Government has also accepted, as part of its response to the Covid-19 epidemic, that there has to be a conclusive test for the disease. 

“It is, therefore, critical that the same approach should be adopted for the bTB epidemic. We need a conclusive test.”

The spokesperson added:

“It is accepted that, under present EU legislation, the skin test is required. However, now that the remainder of the United Kingdom has left the EU, the two jurisdictions that have the highest incidence of bTB are the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

“It is, therefore, inevitable that, at some stage in the foreseeable future, the EU is going to adopt a more radical approach to the epidemic in Ireland.

Where new bTB testing measures are concerned, the Trust points to a field trial taking place in the UK currently.

If successful, it may conclusively prove the evidence of the disease. 

The Trust spokesperson commented:

“It is beyond comprehension that the DAERA has not sought, as a matter of urgency, to replicate such a field trial in Northern Ireland. 

“There is no explanation from DAERA as to why they have not done this or, in fact, made any reference to such trial. 

He concluded: 

“The said government recognised that the best approach to an epidemic was to provide whatever resources were required to the scientific community to urgently develop both a vaccine and test [for bovine tuberculosis]. 

“DAERA seems unwilling to even start such a race."