Member's statement: Bovine Tuberculosis

Member's statement by Mr Tom Buchanan on 3 December 2024.

MLA

Mr Tom Buchanan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 December 2024

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Bovine Tuberculosis

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4690726

Read the official Assembly record

Text

TB has been a long-standing and challenging problem for farmers in Northern Ireland. Following the recent publication by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Chief Veterinary Officer of a 90-page review, it is extremely disappointing to find that TB is far from being resolved. It is clear that the Department has little or no intention of taking any meaningful action to tackle the crisis that is happening across Northern Ireland. The scale of the problem is alarming. Northern Ireland continues to face one of the highest rates of TB in Europe, and, in the first half of 2024, there was a 22·5% increase in the number of cases compared with previous years. DAERA's efforts to control the spread of TB to date, at a cost of £55·7 million in 2023-24, have been unsuccessful. In fact, the Northern Ireland Audit Office stated:

"the continuous cycle of testing, removing and compensating for infected animals has failed to achieve the desired outcome and without eradicating the disease",

it cannot be argued that it is the best value for money. The bovine tuberculosis eradication strategy for Northern Ireland was launched by my colleague, who was the AERA Minister at that time, Edwin Poots, and it consisted of 21 recommendations that would have enabled the eventual eradication of TB. However, it is disappointing to find that, as we stand here, the majority of those recommendations were not implemented and that, given the increasing scale of TB infections, the Department has now stated that that strategy is no longer sustainable. Scientific studies all suggest that the most effective way to reduce the spread of TB is through wildlife intervention. Culling infected badgers is necessary to break the cycle of infection between wildlife and cattle. Culling, alongside the long-term aim of moving to a vaccination-only approach, is the only way that progress on reducing the number of TB infections can be made. No other method has worked thus far. Farmers bear the burden of the Department's inaction on the continued spread of TB, with substantial financial losses due to herd restrictions, the loss of prized livestock and disruption to farm operations. It is therefore vital that the Department safeguards and protects the livelihoods of farmers and farming families by making the eradication of TB a priority. I hope that the Minister is listening today when I say this to him: continuing to kick the can down the road will not solve the problem. We need an effective eradication programme. The Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has asked:

"How many more farm families will be hit by TB by March 2025? How many will face another huge financial and mental blow" —

—

"and how many will have their hearts broken by TB for the first time between now and"

2025?

I trust that the Minister is listening and that he will take cognisance of the issue.

482 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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