The eradication of bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) in NI remains the dominant aspect of the work of Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI), but the industry-led body is also keen to seek views on how best it might tackle other production diseases in cattle.

“We want to consider IBR and also broader animal health issues. We want to have a conversation with industry, and want to look beyond BVD,” said Dr Sam Strain, the chief executive of AHWNI, speaking at a stakeholder event in Templepatrick last week.

Much of the work of AHWNI follows on and mirrors the work of their sister organisation in the Republic of Ireland, Animal Health Ireland (AHI). The formal links started with BVD eradication. There has been a joint initiative on Johne’s disease, which resulted in a pilot programme involving 1,214 dairy farmers which ran from 2014 to 2016. A national Johne’s disease control programme is expected to be launched by AHI later this year.

Also part of future plans for AHI is an IBR eradication programme, which is scheduled to start in 2019. A technical working group has already developed guidance on best practice to control and eradicate IBR from an individual herd. The group is also currently looking at the possible costs and benefits from a national control programme.

If and when a control programme gets up and running, and receives approval from the European Commission, the danger for NI is that it could act as a barrier to trade across the Irish border. That situation has already arisen with the trade of live calves to Belgium, which effectively stopped after the Belgian IBR programme was approved in 2014. A similar IBR programme is also set to be approved in the Netherlands which will also have implications for calf exports.

“If the Republic of Ireland goes for an IBR eradication programme, it is potentially an issue for trade and is something that should be on our radar,” said Strain.

He is keen to set up a working group in NI to see what could be done here. “It could be we do nothing, right through to a fully-fledged eradication programme. We are currently in listening mode,” he said.

Health programme

At last week’s stakeholder meeting, he also floated the idea of devising a wider cattle health programme, with a particular focus on improved calf health and higher standards of farm biosecurity.

Driving that are increasing concerns about antimicrobial resistance in humans, with pressure likely to come on farmers to minimise the use of antibiotics in livestock. Improved farm biosecurity is also an important part of controlling other diseases such as bovine TB or Johne’s disease.

At the core of a programme would be biosecurity (good boundaries, minimising farm movements, etc) and biocontainment (calf health and hygiene, treatment plans and guidelines on antibiotic use). “There is more pressure coming down the line – we can be reactive or proactive. Is it viable to create a wider programme? How will it be funded? We want to have that conversation,” said Strain.