There are signs that levels of bovine TB were on the decline before the introduction of tighter cattle movement restrictions and heightened herd testing requirements earlier this week.

The Department of Agriculture bovine TB statistics show that reactor numbers, herd incidence and the number of herds restrictions all fell in the 12 months up to the end of March when compared with the equivalent timeframe one year previous.

There were 36,219 reactors identified in the 12 months up to 30 March 2026, a decrease of 13.3% in the number that had been identified in the year up to the end of the previous March.

The 12-month herd incidence – the proportion of herds going down that had tested clear in their prior herd test – dropped to 5.51% at the end of last month, having stood at 6.18% at the equivalent stage of 2025.

The one-year period up to the end of March 2026 had also witnessed 5,497 herds under TB restrictions, a drop of around one-eighth on the 6,243 herds that had been placed under movement restrictions a year before.

The new TB testing and movement rules have been broken into three groups for the purposes of buying cattle.

Group one

Anyone can buy:

  • Young stock, such as heifers or males under 36 months, that were tested in the last 12 months.
  • Cows or males over 36 months, if they have a 30-day pre-movement test.
  • Beef-breed cows or males over 36 months where the animal and the herd it is in were tested in the last six months.

    • Group two

    Can only be bought by non-milk supplying and non-breeding herd and controlled finishing units (CFUs):

  • Dairy breed cows where the animal and the herd it is in were tested in the last six months.

    • Group three

    Only Department-approved CFUs can buy:

  • Cows that were in an exposed cohort in herds greater than 80 cows that were blood tested.
  • Any in-test animal, including in-test dairy breed cows not included in group one and two above.