Farm organisations will be presented with 30 new proposed TB eradication measures at a crunch TB summit on Thursday.

The meeting takes place against the backdrop of a surge in reactor numbers, with 41,780 identified in the year to April 2025.

Department of Agriculture officials have warned that if the current trend continues, Ireland can expect an estimated 63,000 reactors on farms this year.

Among the proposals which will be presented are:

  • The introduction of 30-day pre-movement testing.
  • All animals returning from a contract rearer will require a 30-day pre-movement test.
  • Provide information on TB herd risk category at point of sale for all cattle.
  • Badgers will only be vaccinated against TB if they have tested negative for the disease. Badgers that test positive for TB will be culled.
  • Mandatory TB blood testing in herds of 60 cows or more where 5% of the exposed cohort tests positive or there are 10 reactors, whichever is the lesser.
  • All high-risk breakdowns – three or more standard skin reactors in the one breakdown – will require two clear skin tests at least 6 months apart to be derestricted.
  • Relapse herds will require testing at six-monthly intervals for a period of five years – a relapse herd is considered a herd with three or more standard reactors in a breakdown where there are animals present in the same exposed cohort that were previously in a high-risk breakdown.
  • Restrict the sale of cows that were part of the exposed cohort at the time of breakdown in breeding herds greater than 60 cows or more where 5% of the exposed cohort test positive or 10 reactors, whichever is the lesser, to other farms for three years after derestriction. Cows may still be sold direct to controlled finishing units or direct to slaughter in this three-year period.
  • Cows greater than five lactations will be ineligible for compensation through reactor grants in relapse herds.
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