The ongoing BVD eradication campaign is already delivering animal health benefits across Ireland’s dairy and beef sectors.
That’s according to Hugh Farrell, the general secretary of the Irish Cattle and Sheep association (ICSA), who highlighted the knock-on effects in his address to a recent cross-border meeting on BVD in Keady, Co Armagh.
The event was hosted by Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI) to profile the steps that will be required to fully eradicate BVD on the island of Ireland.
In his speech, Farrell said: “We are seeing very significant reductions in the use of antibiotics within the cattle sector.
“And this can be attributed, in the main, to the tremendous impact the ongoing BVD eradication campaigns are having.
“Cattle health standards are improving. And this is a good news story for Irish agriculture.”
Specifically, where Northern Ireland is concerned, the introduction of BVD-related herd movement restrictions is being seen as a game changer in securing the final eradication of the disease.
It was a point addressed by AHWNI veterinarian, Sharon Verner.
She explained that, from the beginning of June 2026, movement restrictions will be applied to herds that have five-plus animals over 30 days-of-age with an unknown BVD status.
Verner said: “The BVD eradication campaign has been designed as a bottom-up process with farmers owning and driving the initiative forward.”
Eradication campaigns
The campaign to eradicate BVD in Northern Ireland was kick-started in 2016. At that time, it was estimated that the disease was costing the cattle sector between £25-£30 million per annum.
The BVD eradication campaign in the Republic of Ireland was initiated in 2013.
A key priority for both initiatives is the identification of ‘Trojan females’ – heifers and cows carrying BVD-infected calves.
In so doing, the risk of spreading the disease to other farms is greatly minimised.
The specific challenges posed by contract rearing of heifers and other practises that bring large numbers of breeding females together on the one site without them actually calving at that location was also discussed at the Keady meeting.
Another issue discussed was the significant stress caused within farm families when BVD affected cattle are culled on their own premises.
In his closing remarks, Animal Health Ireland chief executive, Patrick Donohoe, confirmed the need for the aims and objectives of the ongoing BVD eradication campaigns to be better communicated across agriculture as a whole.
He added that momentum on communication will be built up in the near future.