Wildlife intervention should aim to reduce bovine tuberculosis (bTB) “as rapidly as can be reasonably achieved”, according to a new study.

AgriSearch has published a major review of the evidence behind wildlife intervention options by Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to combat bTB.

The review looked at what the evidence says each approach could achieve, what it could cost, and how DAERA has compared the options.

The farmer-funded research organisation reviewed the scientific evidence on: non-selective culling; Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR); and vaccination-only.

This was alongside an independent review of DAERA’s economic appraisal undertaken by The Andersons Centre.

AgriSearch chair Norman McMordie said: “Bovine TB has blighted Northern Ireland’s cattle sector and farming families for far too long.

“We need to make much greater progress towards controlling and ultimately eradicating this disease.”

He added that the purpose of the work was not to start with a preferred answer, but to "look carefully" at the available evidence, understand where it is strong, where uncertainty remains and what that means for decisions in Northern Ireland.

He added: “Wildlife intervention cannot be considered in isolation from cattle measures, but equally the wildlife reservoir has to be addressed if we are serious about eradication."

According to McMordie, the challenge is to select interventions appropriate to the circumstances, implement them effectively and measure whether they are working.

Key issues

The assessment highlighted four key issues: evidence of results in cattle; how the options are compared; the cost to farmers; and badger numbers.

In terms of evidence of results in cattle, as the three wildlife intervention options differ in the type and strength of evidence supporting them, results demonstrated in cattle through field studies need to be distinguished from outcomes predicted by computer models.

In terms of how the options are compared, DAERA’s non-monetary and risk assessments involve subjective judgements in the scores assigned, while economic, non-monetary and risk assessments are given equal weight in the overall ranking.

AgriSearch asked DAERA to justify both the scores and the equal weighting, because changing either could alter the ranking of the interventions.

The study also found that DAERA is "likely to have underestimated" the costs borne by farmers during herd breakdowns, and therefore the economic value of preventing herd breakdowns.

DAERA’s estimate relies partly on older source data, some dating back to 2010/2011.

AgriSearch believes the much more recent Andersons study for Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC), Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) and the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland (DCNI) should be used as the benchmark unless DAERA can provide robust evidence for an alternative;

The study also found that "reliable, up-to-date local population information" on badger numbers is needed to plan interventions, assess how much of the badger population they reach, and estimate delivery costs.

McMordie said while there will always be "uncertainty in a disease as complex as bTB", that should not become "a reason for inaction".

"We need an evidence-based programme that can act on what we know now, measure the results and adapt as better evidence becomes available," he said.

Public consultation

A two-week extension to a public consultation on options for potential wildlife intervention to help tackle bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Northern Ireland has been announced.

DAERA said the consultation will now close on Friday, October 9.

AgriSearch is making their material available ahead of the consultation deadline, so that farmers who wish to respond can use the evidence to inform their own response.

A short, illustrated evidence briefing provides an accessible overview of the findings.

It is available alongside the full AgriSearch consultation response and the independent Andersons economic review on the AgriSearch website.

Ulster Unionist Party

Ulster Unionist deputy leader and agriculture spokesperson Diana Armstrong has urged farmers to respond to DAERA’s consultation on wildlife intervention options to tackle bTB before it closes.

Armstrong, who is also chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly's Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee at Stormont, said: “Bovine TB is one of the most damaging problems facing Northern Ireland agriculture.

"It costs more than £150 million a year, with almost £100 million of that falling directly on farmers, and around half of that carried by herds that have never had a breakdown at all.

She described the consultation as the first real opportunity in years to shape what happens next.

Armstrong added: “Do not assume someone else will speak for you. Departments count responses.

"A consultation that attracts a thin response gives whoever comes next an excuse to do nothing, and doing nothing is what has brought us to where we are."