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Drawn up by the TB Partnership Steering Group (TBPSG) – a body established in January this year and made up of industry, veterinary and wildlife stakeholders – its 32-page paper identifies the many aspects that have to be addressed to ensure eradication.

Having laid out this multi-faceted need, the group recommends how each area – whether it be testing, increased surveillance, finance or wildlife – be further explored and progressed.

The report, titled the ‘Bovine TB in Northern Ireland Blueprint for Eradication’, is built along three broad thematic areas of people, cattle and wildlife.

The group, in its forward, states: “The blueprint is founded on the principle that eradicating this disease requires a unified, multisectoral approach.

“It acknowledges where further engagement and assessment is needed, what actions can begin immediately and provides a robust basis for a transformative change to our approach to tackling bTB in NI over the short, medium and longer terms.

“It recognises that eradication will take time but provides the framework where eradication of bTB can now be realistically advanced.”

Agriculture minister Andrew Muir described the blueprint as “the result of hard work, forward thinking and excellent collaboration by members of the TBPSG”.

He went on: “We cannot continue on the current path, change is required and this ambitious blueprint provides us with a clear and decisive way forward to finally setting Northern Ireland on the pathway to eradication.

“I would like to thank members for their extensive efforts in developing and agreeing the blueprint together, which helps identify the immediate priorities for action and the steps needed to put them in place.

“I have directed my officials to advance the necessary recommendations and decisions which we now need to progress as we set out on this journey together.”

Brian Dooher, Chief Veterinary Officer and Chair of the TBPSG, said: “The blueprint marks a new step forward in our efforts to eradicate bTB here.

“It details the immediate actions which must now progress and also provides a roadmap of medium and longer-term areas where continued collaborative working between government and our stakeholders will be essential if we are to deliver the real change now required in our efforts to fight bTB.”

The TBPSG is confident the blueprint will place Northern Ireland on a pathway towards eventual eradication of Bovine TB, delivering significant benefits to people, animals and the environment.

A programme to eradicate bTB has been in place in Northern Ireland since the late 1950s with this report being the latest in a long line of studies and research papers aimed at moving it closer to that goal.

The current bTB programme, which is required under European law, underpins the ability of NI’s livestock sectors to trade with the European Union and internationally.

In 2021, NI sales of processed food, internally and to external markets, were worth approximately £5.9 billion, of which sales of milk and milk products were estimated to be worth approximately £1.3 billion, and sales of beef and sheep meat products were just under £1.7 billion.

The TB incidence rate in Northern Ireland – currently 10.76 per cent – is the highest in the UK on average and well above that on the Republic of Ireland, which sits at six per cent.

- The blueprint and details of the TBPSG membership can be found at https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/publications/tb-partnership-steering-group-bovine-tb-northern-ireland-blueprint-eradication