Following a short break in testing after DAERA failed to agree a TB contract with private vets, normal service has resumed in NI.

As reported in recent weeks, the existing contract, in place since 2016, ran out on 10 April 2023. In the period up to the deadline, negotiations between both parties had highlighted significant concerns from vets about the previous contract.

A final version of a new contract was only produced by DAERA two working days before the old one expired, making a break in testing inevitable.

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“Despite concerns with the new contract, in the interests of disease control, members do not wish to add to the negative impact on the agri-sector that would accompany an extended break in testing,” confirmed a spokesperson from the Association of Veterinary Surgeons Practising in NI (AVSPNI).

The new contract is only for six months. According to the AVSPNI spokesperson they have been “reassured by DAERA that the inadequacies in this interim contract will be addressed in the next one.”

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