The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has clarified its response in relation to compulsory testing for bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), which has been extended to include older animals born before 2013.
The department highlighted that both male and female cattle born before 2013 are to be tested under the new regulation.
Following a query on the matter on Friday, May 29, this week a department spokesperson told AgriLand:
S.I. 182 of 2020, requires that all bovines [male and female] born before January 1, 2013, are tested for the presence of the BVD virus.
“This means all bovines born before January 1, 2013, for which a valid BVD test result – direct or indirect – has not been registered.”
This is a clarification to the statement the department provided to AgriLand last Friday, when a spokesperson said:
“Consequential to a decision of and a request from the BVD Implementation Group, BVD legislation has been amended with effect from May 22, 2020.
“The changes are set out in S.I. [statutory instrument] 182 of 2020 Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (Amendment) Regulations 2020, which now requires the compulsory testing of all female bovines born before January 1, 2013, for the presence of the BVD virus.
This is with the exception of those female bovines for which there is a recorded valid BVD test result for one or more offspring.
“It is envisaged that this legislation will assist in the eradication of the disease from the national herd, and will capture a small number of pre-2013 born animals who have not been tested for BVD [directly or indirectly by the testing of one or more progeny].”