A report by the comptroller and auditor general for NI, Kieran Donnelly, has questioned whether the current TB programme in NI represents best value for the public purse.

Published on Tuesday, it points to the fact that £470m of public money has been spent on bovine TB in NI since 1996.

In the 2017/2018 financial year, the programme cost taxpayers £44.4m – which includes £23m of compensation for reactor animals, £9.1m in DAERA staff costs and £8.2m for testing by private vets.

According to Donnelly, current compensation arrangements mean there isn’t enough of a financial incentive for industry to take ownership of the bovine TB issue.

“The Department should take steps to reduce compensation by imposing a realistic cap on the total payable for each animal and by reducing the current rate from 100% of market value,” states the report.

In response, Ulster Farmers’ Union deputy president David Brown said that farmers could not accept cuts to compensation until action is taken to address TB in wildlife.

“Cattle are one part of the equation and there are many regulations and controls in place. Wildlife is the other major contributor in the continuation of this disease,” he said.

Brian Walker from the Pedigree Cattle Trust said that it is not acceptable that the political vacuum at Stormont is delaying addressing the wildlife issue: “The time has long since passed for more discussion, more consultations, more expert reports and more indecision.”

Badgers

Meanwhile, a study published by AFBI on Wednesday backs up recent research in the Republic of Ireland, which found that the behaviour and density of badger populations varies more widely than previously thought.

“Interventions that seek to reduce the risk of TB transmission from wildlife not only have to contend with very varied populations in terms of local abundance, but also how far and how frequently these animals move,” said Dr Andrew Byrne from AFBI.

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