Post TB consultation information directly to Stormont – FFA

Farmers For Action’s Steering Committee are asking family farmers like most other farm organisations to be sure and respond to the TB consultation put forward by Minister Edwin Poots to arrive by the latest Friday 10th September.

Going further FFA are asking as many family farmers as possible to preferably send their response by post telling their own TB story, bearing in mind that city and country MLAs should be reading what they write.

They should explain their story in detail and its costs in terms of continued extra work, strain on farm finances and worst of all strain on the whole family and its effect on family time.

Where possible FFA would like family farmers who have had sight of very sick TB infected badgers that have literally lost their hair and on their last legs to please include this in their response with photographs where possible, as it is important that MLAs realise that the neglect over decades by the heads of the Department for Agriculture Veterinary Department in Northern Ireland to eradicate bTB allowing it to get worse and worse, not only affecting cattle and now deer but has severally impacted on the badger world in Northern Ireland.

With every farming family in Northern Ireland wanting to see healthy cattle and currently doing all they can to test, re-test and have infected animals removed it is sole destroying for the disease to return as a result of infected badgers that are not and have not been looked after by the heads of the Department for Agriculture in Northern Ireland, as was their duty with the money given to them by the EU in recent years to eradicate bTB and FFA repeat – the money was given to the heads of the Northern Ireland Department for Agriculture to eradicate the disease, which they have not done.

As a result the EU fined Northern Ireland for not using EU money (taxpayers money) for the purpose intended.

Going forward with the current consultation and a Minister for Agriculture willing to tackle bTB, which FFA will be responding to, Sean McAuley stated that: “FFA want to see the consultation responses swaying MLA’s to back Minister Poots’s request to cull infected badgers and alongside this FFA’s preferred option is for the department to carry out the cull professionally across Northern Ireland and only after five years minimum when farmers see action on the ground bearing results (which along with the Gamma interferon test being introduced) will take a minimum of four years to bear fruit – there should not be any reduction in livestock compensation to Northern Ireland farmers nor should there be any suggestion of them paying towards TB for at least five years.”

Please post your consultation response (signed for) to arrive by latest 10th September 2021: Bovine TB Consultation TBBR Policy Team Animal Health and Welfare Division Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Ballykelly House, 111 Ballykelly Road, Ballykelly, Limavady, BT49 9HP.

You can respond online, however, this response appears swayed by the format of the layout in favour of the department, therefore, if choosing this route be careful how you respond.