Number of cattle with TB down 20%

Monday, November 2, 2009
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SEÁN Mac CONNELL Agriculture Correspondent

NEW FIELD trials to stop the spread of TB in cattle by vaccinating
badgers rather than exterminating them is showing good results,
according to the Department of Agriculture.

The number of Irish cattle affected by bovine TB has fallen by nearly 20
per cent this year.

The latest figures from the Department of Agriculture have also shown a
significant fall in the number of "reactor" cattle this year up to the
end of October.

In areas where the department killed off the badger population, the
incidence of bovine TB dropped in the cattle herds, but this has caused
outrage in animal welfare circles.

Badgers killed in the field trials carried out in areas where there have
been high levels of TB in cattle have been found to have TB infection
levels as high as 40 per cent.

A statement from the department said the research project with
University College Dublin and the UK government's department of
agriculture on the efficacy of an orally delivered vaccine to badgers is
"showing promising results".

"If the field trial is successful and subsequently a national badger
vaccination strategy is adopted, the need to remove TB-infected badgers
will reduce as tuberculosis levels falls in both cattle and badgers.

"However, it will be some time before the benefits of a vaccine can be
seen, and it is envisaged that the existing strategy will remain in
place for some time."

The battle to control the disease has intensified following the
announcement some days ago by the EU that it has recognised Scotland as
being free from the disease, giving it a trade competitive advantage.
This was awarded because 99.9 per cent of herds in Scotland achieved
TB-free status for six consecutive years.

In the Republic the number of herds restricted for TB was 5.9 per cent
of herds tested in 2008. England, Wales and Northern Ireland have
similar problems eradicating the disease.

Third-quarter figures showed the number of so-called reactors -- cattle
which fail the test -- has fallen to 18,237 compared to 22,997 reactor
cattle in the same period in 2008.

The figures reflect an improving situation in the 50-year fight to rid
the national cattle herd of the disease which has cost the Irish
taxpayer an estimated EUR1.5 billion and the industry probably twice
that figure.

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times