Research could represent TB breakthrough farmers have been craving for decades

Despite calls for DAERA to implement a more stringent testing regime, and an alternative approach towards controlling and eradicating the disease, bTB continues to have a crippling impact on family farms.

Cases of bTB are at an all-time high, with the Pedigree Cattle Trust, a body which represents the province’s main beef and dairy breed clubs, calling for a more structured, radical and effective approach in the fight against this devasting zoonosis.

The Pedigree Cattle Trust is hosting an ‘open meeting’ in Armagh City Hotel on Thursday, 18 th April at 8.00pm.

Brian Walker, chairman, Pedigree Cattle Trust, said: “I extend a warm invitation to all pedigree and commercial herd owners, and industry leaders, to attend the forthcoming meeting.

“I am looking forward to welcoming Dr Dick Sibley to Northern Ireland to present an update on his pioneering clinical trials and research. Bovine TB is out of control in Northern Ireland, and its impact on the local agricultural industry remains financially and psychologically significant.

“It is fair to say that the Department of Agriculture’s attempts to control or eradicate Tuberculosis in Northern Ireland have failed over the last 50 years. Former Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots agreed that there was no point doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to see different results.”

Devonshire vet Dr Sibley BVSc HonFRCVS addressed a Pedigree Cattle Trust meeting in Portadown in 2020. More than 200 delegates were in attendance, and found it refreshing to hear Dr Sibley’s thoughts on eradicating bTB.

Dr Sibley has conducted extensive clinical trials and research which has yielded impressive results in GB. His pioneering measures were challenged along the way by government officials, but his experiments and trials are encouraging and could represent the breakthrough that livestock farmers have been craving for generations.

Brian Walker continued: “Dr Sibley remains extremely critical of DAERA’s approach. Pedigree Cattle Trust members accept there are various causes for the epidemic, such as how the disease is spread, and how it is detected.

“We are persistently drawn to the Government’s successful response to the Covid 19 pandemic. Government impetus and resources were devoted to tackling the pandemic, and it was brought under control by two methods, vaccination and adequate testing. There are no such scientifically proven methods is relation to bovine Tuberculosis.

“The future of our cattle industry is at stake. There will come a time when animals bred in Northern Ireland will be banned or restricted from being exported to other regions. The clock is ticking and we are urging Minister Muir and DAERA to get a grip on eradicating bTB. More work also needs to be done to eradicate BVD in local herds.”

Trying to combat bTB is difficult and expensive. The best way to protect the public purse is to eradicate the disease. Dr Sibley stresses the need for a collective approach between the

Department, vets and farmers. “Everyone must engage and share ownership of the problem. It’s obvious there is no quick fix.

“There are some things that farmers can do themselves, but there needs to be an overall strategy that deals with four pillars of disease control: biosecurity, biocontainment, resilience and surveillance. Culling wildlife and testing is not enough!”

During his presentation Dr Sibley will illustrate the trials he has conducted in South West England. “The area has similar topography, cattle and farming systems to NI. The demand for wildlife control is understandable, but it won’t solve the problem on its own.

“I have details of a very interesting project involving a small beef breeding herd, which is similar to many of the pedigree enterprises in Northern Ireland.”

Dr Sibley will also talk about cattle and badger vaccination, but will give farmers advice on self-help, sharing ways to prevent and control the spread of bTB on-farm.

The Pedigree Cattle Trust was founded in 2017 and represents the interests of more than 2,500 pedigree beef and dairy herds across the province.

Next week’s meeting is open to all bovine livestock producers in Northern Ireland.