Gleeson: Tough decisions ahead on TB policy reset
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One of the department’s most senior officials has called for a “reset” in the national bovine TB policy and an honest conversation about halting the disease’s spread, but warned that a national badger cull was off the cards.
The latest department figures show that as of October 27, 5,906 herds had suffered a TB breakdown in the previous 12 months compared to 4,914 at the same point the previous year.
Speaking at the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) AGM, Brendan Gleeson, general secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, acknowledged the growing concerns of Irish farmers over bovine tuberculosis (TB).
“We need to do everything we can to stop herd-to-herd transmission, limit transmission within herds, and mitigate the risk from wildlife,” Gleeson stated, emphasizing the complexity of TB transmission and the urgent need for science-driven solutions.
Wildlife management remains a contentious issue.
“Not too many things keep me awake at night,” said Mr Gleeson. “But TB does… and wildlife is a factor. It bothers me that people always talk about wildlife because it’s perceived as somebody else’s problem. The fact is the rules of transmission are complex, and we know what they are. The budget on wildlife has doubled since 2019.
“We are vaccinating and culling more badgers than we ever have before. We are never going to get the like of a situation where we are culling badgers everywhere – they are a protected species, and we are never going to get away with that.”
Mr Gleeson warned that it would take some “difficult decisions” and honest conversations needed to be had about what farmers were willing to do to be rid of the disease.
“We have eradicated Brucellosis, but we had to swallow some bitter pills to do it,” he stressed.
Mr Gleeson said he could not say anything that would prejudice the deliberations of a new minister, but added: “The bottom line is that we can’t afford to wait around for some silver bullet. I’m absolutely certain that if we are to change things for the better, it will involve some tough decisions.”
Mr Gleeson said the recently-launched national genotyping programme was a “real opportunity” to identify TB-resistant animals with high economic breeding value.
“That technology is in our grasp because of investments we have made in technologies over the last few years,” he said.
However, while vaccination against TB initially sounds promising, Gleeson noted that limitations currently prevent vaccinated and TB-positive animals from being distinguished from each other, but ongoing research could pave the way for targeted vaccinations in the future.
“Vaccination will be part of the toolbox when the technology is ready,” he said.
The meeting heard from dairy farmers who had lost significant numbers of cows from their herds as a result of the disease.
ICMSA president Denis Drennan said: “TB levels are now a massive concern. Put as bluntly as the seriousness of the situation merits: We can’t keep doing what we are doing and expect a different result. What we are doing just isn’t working and we cannot stay at this. Science-based solutions are needed.
“Focus is needed on wildlife, structured deer cull needs to commence early in 2025 and a new strategy for managing badger setts.
“Focus cannot always be on restricting farmers, all actors in animal movements – very specifically including marts - need to play their part.”
