Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir told MLAs at Stormont on Tuesday that he intends to come forward with a TB plan that involves culling wildlife infected with the disease.
“Let me be crystal clear today that a wildlife intervention strategy is not optional. Rather, it must occur. We must have wildlife intervention on TB,” he said.
Back in 2022, former DAERA Minister Edwin Poots announced badger culling would be done in TB hotspot areas.
However, following a judicial review taken by badger campaigners, that decision was quashed in the High Court in 2023 due to failings around a public consultation process.
On Tuesday, Minister Muir repeated on a number of occasions that a future consultation must be done correctly. “It is important that we deliver an intervention that is legally robust,” he said.
He also told MLAs he had been engaging with his counterpart in ROI, Minister Heydon, to ensure an all-island approach to TB.
“Whilst TB disease rates have been rising on both sides of the border, I am conscious that the position in ROI is significantly better than that in NI although that does not bring any benefit to farmers in the South,” he said.
SHARING OPTIONS