13 AUGUST 2018
ICSA animal health and welfare chairman Hugh Farrell has said that the TB situation in Monaghan is a matter of real concern. Reacting to figures from the Department which show that the rate of reactors per 1,000 in Monaghan is 5.12 compared to a national average of 1.87, Mr Farrell said that “farmers in Monaghan are getting very frustrated at a TB situation that looks like it will get worse before it gets better.”
“ICSA wants to see a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the wildlife sources are dealt with efficiently and quickly. While farmers will endure the full brunt of restrictions, this cannot be done in isolation from other measures. Badgers and increasingly, wild deer are implicated in TB spread and any strategy must deal with all sources of infection.”
“ICSA also believes that the Department must ensure that reactors are removed from farms as quickly as possible. It is not acceptable to leave reactors on a farm for three weeks or more. ICSA is also concerned that the fodder crisis has added to the pressure on farmers with reactors who are left unable to sell stock as usual due to TB. We will be pressing for an improved hardship payment especially for suckler farmers and store producers who have no monthly milk cheque and who cannot offload finished cattle. Suckler farmers who have mainly weanlings to sell and store producers live in fear of a TB outbreak and in a year like this when feed is scarce, they are really vulnerable.”
ENDS
