There are no immediate plans to include the Beef Plan Movement around the table of the Tuberculosis (TB) 2030 Stakeholder Forum, it has been stated.
Last week, the movement staged its first official protest outside the department’s Backweston Campus in Co. Kildare where the most recent stakeholder forum meeting on TB was being held.
The movement – which now claims to have more than 17,000 members – made the decision to rally after its request to attend and contribute to the TB Stakeholder Forum had been denied by officials, representatives said.
Although department officials communicated to the group that its request to join would be “discussed” at the meeting, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has poured cold water on this possibility for now.
In response to a parliamentary question on the matter from independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice – who represents the constituency of Roscommon-Galway – Minister Creed said:
“The TB Forum was established mid-2018 and has held a number of meetings.
As the work of the forum is nearing completion I do not envisage adding to the membership of this forum.
The 2030 TB Stakeholder Forum is made up of: representatives from the department; farm organisations; the veterinary profession; the agri-food industry; and the farming and research communities, with the aim of eradicating bovine TB from the national herd by 2030.
Speaking to AgriLand, Michael Rafferty, the chairperson of the movement’s Animal Health Committee, outlined how he believes the movement can “add value” to the forum.
We have developed an 86-point plan for beef farmers; developed by beef farmers for beef farmers. There are 10 specific points within that plan that are geared towards animal health, and TB specifically.
Eamon Corley, co-founder and spokesperson for the movement believes the movement’s insight to the forum is “vital”.
“Farmers have to get in the cattle; we have to be there when the vets are testing the cattle; and we have to identify where the wildlife is that is possibly causing the problem,” he said.
“If there is a forum there dealing with TB, we are entitled to be at it – because we represent farmers who are heavily affected by this,” he concluded.