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Badger vaccination will commence in parts of Co Roscommon in 2019, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed has said.
In response to a parliamentary question from Roscommon-Galway TD Eugene Murphy, Minister Creed said that vaccinations will continue in Co Galway, where it has been carried out in some areas for several years during the field trials which demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach.
Vaccination programme
Badgers have been vaccinated in Ireland since January 2018, with parts of counties Monaghan, Longford, Galway, Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny and Cork plus all of Louth taking part in the vaccination programme.
“Badgers in a vaccination area are captured, vaccinated and released instead of being captured and culled,” Minister Creed said.
"The vaccination programme is continuing on an annual basis, so each year’s births in vaccination areas are vaccinated as they are captured.
“It is intended to expand the vaccination area incrementally to all parts of the country during the 2019-2022 period.
"Vaccinating badgers with BCG is a way to deliver protection to cattle and thereby to farmers from the risk of a TB breakdown, and is a key part of the strategy to eradicate bovine TB,” he said.
Research
Minister Creed also said that €3.1m was spent on TB-related research by his Department in 2017 and 2018.
“This relates to work undertaken by Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and University College Dublin.
“It is critical that [the] Irish TB eradication policy is guided by scientific research, as this ensures that the programme delivers protection to farmers and their cattle in the most effective way, with decisions underpinned by strong evidence and informed expertise,” he said.
"The Irish TB research community plays a vital role in this, investigating the specific challenges we face with TB in the context of Irish agriculture, ecology and epidemiology," Minister Creed said.
“The work carried out on TB research, funded by my Department, will continue to be essential to the eradication of bovine TB from Ireland,” he added.
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