A former member of the high profile TB Eradication Partnership (TBEP) in Northern Ireland has claimed that “there is also a total lack of political will at Stormont” to tackle TB.
The Co. Down dairy farmer and veterinary surgeon, David Rea is of the opinion that the professional resolve to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Northern Ireland on the part of those delivering policy within the DAERA veterinary service has to be questioned.
Last year a total of £60 million was spent in Northern Ireland, funding the current TB programme which he described as “wasted money.”
The farmer made the comments during a hard hitting presentation at the recent Northern Ireland Institute of Agricultural Science (NIIAS) annual conference in which he also called into question the credibility of the current approach.
According to Rea, the issue of TB will only be tackled once wildlife intervention is officially recognised as being an integral part of the solution and appropriate steps taken to make this a reality.
“It’s all about following the science, And this is not happening at the present time,” he said.
TB
Rea – milks 250 cows close to Crossgar in Co. Down – also used the occasion of the conference to highlight the extreme losses his business had amassed due to a continuing TB breakdown that has been impacting on his herd for the past five years.
“And the problems continue,” he added.
When asked about the fact that animal welfare groups will always have the option to seek judicial reviews on the specific matter of badger culling, Rea said that strong political leadership is needed to get the issue of TB under control.
Rea added: “This has not been evident up to now.
“We also need veterinary service playing a strategic role in this context.”
DAERA’s deputy chief veterinary officer, Dr. David Kyle also spoke at the NIIAS conference, where he said that the prospects of getting an agreed strategy that gets to grips with the TB challenge in Northern Ireland are improving.
Dr. Kyle said: “The enemy is bTB. Moving forward all the stakeholders involved must control the narrative.
“Effective communication is at the heart of all this. It is also a imperative that DAERA follows due process at all times.
“There is a political and professional will to act on the bTB issue in the most strategic way possible. And we need to bring all the relevant stakeholders together on this journey.”
