The introduction of the new regulations on bovine tuberculosis (TB) testing should be deferred until there is an agreement around financing, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has said.
New regulations will come into effect on Wednesday, February 1, under which cattle over 36 months that are moving from farm to farm or through a mart, must have been tested for TB in the last six months. Failing this, they must be tested within 30 days of the movement.
However, there has been some disagreement over who will be required to pay for these standalone tests, with widespread calls for the state to cover the costs.
The ICSA’s animal health and welfare chair Hugh Farrell called on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue today (January 27), to halt the introduction of the rules as a result of this.
He said that they should not come into force until “there is a plan to properly inform buyers on the status of animals on mart boards”.
“The minister needs to understand that these new pre- and post-movement TB testing rules are causing chaos in the mart trade already and there is widespread confusion about what are the requirements.
“ICSA has endeavoured to explain that farmers can continue to sell at marts as usual from February 1, onwards, but the fact remains that farmers are totally confused about where they stand.
“It is also important to reiterate that this only applies to animals over 36 months or to breeding animals,” he added.
The chair outlined that certain scenarios may raise particular problems for those buying cattle.
He questioned what the position would be in relation to the six-month herd test rule if an animal was purchased and tested in its new herd, but was then sold on in a subsequent mart sale.
“How is the next buyer to know what the position is? Will the mart board be capable of giving accurate information in all circumstances?” he asked.
Farrell said that these issues need to be “thrashed out” before a lack of clarity around TB testing leads to operations “spiralling out of control”.
“The ICSA is demanding that all tests outside of the annual herd test are funded by the state.
“Minister McConalogue needs to get on top of this before it spirals out of control and the first thing he must do is defer the introduction,” he concluded.