In this article, UFU deputy president, John McLenaghan, expresses concerns over TB herd incidences reaching their highest level since 2019.
TB herd incidence rates are still increasing, much to the distress of our members.
Current herd incidence now exceeds 9% – the highest level recorded since 2019.
We met with DAERA officials recently (July 20th, 2022) to ensure all parties are continuing their efforts to implement the revised TB strategy.
While it is extremely positive that we have this once-in-a-generation opportunity to eradicate TB from Northern Ireland, farmers are and will continue to suffer emotionally and financially until the revised strategy is put in place.
We have made such progress up until this point, but we need to keep going to get this over the line.”
Reactors
The number of reactors removed in the last 12 months now sits at 14632. This is an increase of 1425 in the corresponding period in 2021.
This plague of a disease is removing more than 280 cattle per week from our industry before they even have the chance to reach their full production potential.
We need everyone in the industry to work together, doing everything in their power to get the revised TB strategy rolled out.
There is ongoing frustration amongst our membership that controlled herds have a role to play to ease pressure on TB-affected herds in similarity to other parts of the UK.
Furthermore, it is essential that DAERA continue to move forward on the development of this.
We continue to encourage DAERA to remove TB reactor cattle from herds as promptly as possible after testing.
By implementing all of these measures, our livestock farmers can gain peace of mind knowing that we have an appropriate approach in place that will support us in eradicating this plight of a disease once and for all.
The UFU is continuing to urge DAERA to progress on implementing the Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) Eradication Strategy for Northern Ireland.
| Disease statistics | ||||||
| Annual herd incidence over the last 12 months (%) | 9.03 | |||||
| Annual herd incidence over the last 13-24 months (%) | 8.81 | |||||
| 2021 Herd Incidence (%) | 8.85 | |||||
| Annual animal incidence over the last 12 months (%) | 0.798 | |||||
| Annual animal incidence over the last 13-24 months (%) | 0.751 | |||||
| 2021 Animal Incidence (%) | 0.786 | |||||
| Confirmed TB herd prevalence in last 12 months (%) | 10.52 | for | ||||
| Confirmed TB herd prevalence in last 13-24 months (%) | 9.48 | for | ||||
| Confirmed TB herd prevalence in 2021 (%) | 10.35 | for | ||||
| Confirmed TB animal prevalence in last 12 months (%) | 0.439 | for | ||||
| Confirmed TB animal prevalence in last 13-24 months (%) | 0.377 | for | ||||
| Confirmed TB animal prevalence in 2021 (%) | 0.434 | for | ||||
| TB skin test reactors | ||||||
| No. of TB reactor animals since start of year | 5,548 | |||||
| No. of reactor animals in the previous 12 months | 14,632 | |||||
| No. of reactor animals in the previous 13-24 months | 13,207 | |||||
| Herds & animals tested | ||||||
| No. herds with herd test during last 12 months | 22,195 | |||||
| No. herds with herd test during last 13-24 months | 22,221 | |||||
| No. herds with herd test during 2021 | 22,249 | |||||
| No. animals TB tested in previous 12 months | 1,834,683 | |||||
| No. animals TB tested in previous 13-24 months | 1,758,437 | |||||
| No. animals TB tested in 2021 | 1,827,749 |
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