TB eradication now the most important priority for farmers in Northern Ireland

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Union president, William Irvine, further explained:

"We have just completed our presidential road shows for 2026. And at each of the six venues, the need to get an effective bTB eradication strategy put in place was the issue that took centre stage in terms of the feedback from the farmers in attendance.

"The tremendous financial and psychological stresses caused by bTB breakdowns and their aftermath are now universally recognised.

"The problem is that we have not seen an appropriate response from farm minister Andrew Muir and his officials in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

"The current eradication policy is not working. We need change and this will require a significant wildlife intervention, particularly in bTB hotspot areas."

The UFU president went on to point out that badgers are part of the problem: their health is adversely impacted by bTb while they also act to transmit the disease to cattle.

He continued;

"The results of research currently being carried out by scientists at Queen's University Belfast will very likely confirm that the numbers of badgers in Northern Ireland has been very significantly underestimated up to this point.

"This further highlights the role that they play in worsening the bTB challenge. Meanwhile, badgers predate on hedgehogs another wildlife species.

"There is a very clear balance point that has to be archived as we look to the future: healthy populations of cattle and badgers living in harmony throughout our rural areas.

"This is the end point that every farmers wants to see achieved."

Significantly, William Irvine has a very jaundiced view of the recent cross-border bTBeradication trial jointly announced by Dublin and Belfast. This will entail the comprehensive bTB testing of cattle herds in an area taking in a region of West Tyrone and East Donegal.

A wildlife intervention centred on an assessment of the bTB levels that exist within the region's badger population will also be included within the remit of the work undertaken

William Irvine again:

"But we have been here before. A similar trial was carried out in the Banbridge area of Co Down a number of years ago. And this work confirmed the prevalence of bTB in badger populations.

"Adding to farmers' frustrations about the new, cross-border trial is the time it will take to complete the work.

"Initially, we were told that two years would suffice. Now, this has been pushed out to five years.

"This is a very clear example of Andrew Muir kicking the can down the road."

Recent days have seen calls made for a new test to be introduced when it comes to assessing bTb levels in cattle.

However, the UFU president firmly believes that the focus needs to be on wildlife intervention.

He commented:

"The current test has been used successfully to eradicate bTB in countries like Australia and New Zealand.

"But in these countries a wildlife intervention was also included in the eradication strategies put in place.

"So it's time that the veterinary authorities here in Northern Ireland learned from the steps taken in other parts of the world."

William Irvine concluded:

"Eradicating bTB is now the most fundamental challenge facing production agriculture in Northern Ireland.

"The impact the disease is having on very large numbers of local farms is all pervasive.

"The UFU has always recognised this reality. It's now a case of re-doubling our efforts into the future in order to get a final solution that works for all stakeholder groups."