The Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney and Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill today jointly announced the ending of pre-movement brucellosis testing on both sides of the border, starting 28 September 2015. This is expected to result in a €6m saving in testing costs per year for livestock farmers.

“I am very pleased that significant savings in testing costs, amounting to an estimated €6m in a full year, will accrue to livestock farmers as a result of these changes,” said Minister Coveney.

Ireland achieved officially brucellosis free status in 2009 in order to comply with EU legislation, Northern Ireland has been free from the disease for just over three years.

“There has been no brucellosis outbreak in the national herd since 2006 and none in Northern Ireland since 2012,” said the Minister. “It is now appropriate to end all routine compulsory on-farm testing in this part of the island.”

However, the disease will continue to be compulsorily notifiable and the Department will continue with appropriate monitoring measures for brucellosis, such as testing culled cows at slaughter plants, aborted foetuses sent to regional veterinary Laboratories and post-abortion blood samples at no cost to farmers.

In order to ensure the early detection of any outbreak of this disease, Coveney said that “farmers should continue to report all abortions in cattle and to submit aborted fetuses, if available, for testing to the Department’s Regional Veterinary Laboratory or to have the animal the animal that aborted sampled for brucellosis as soon as possible by their Veterinary Practitioner.”