asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will consider refunding fees paid by farmers for warble fly treatment in those cases where treatment was a failure.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Warble Fly Treatment.
55.
There can, of course, be no guarantee that one dressing with a drug, however effective, will give 100 per cent results in every instance. Even in cases where warbles may appear subsequent to dressing they most probably are not viable. The question of refund of fees does not, in my opinion, arise.
56.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if, in view of the fact that farmers were originally advised that 1971 would be the last year for warble fly treatment, he will state whether they will be required to pay for treatment carried out during the present year.
I am not aware of any foundation for the Deputy's statement. In fact, my Department's announcements in the matter last year emphasised that the current campaign would be continued over three years.
57.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries whether there was any difference in the dressing used for warble fly eradication in 1971 from that of previous years; and whether the material was supplied by the same firm.
The two products approved for the dressing of cattle under the Warble Fly Eradication Scheme have remained essentially the same since the scheme was introduced. The formulation of one of the products was altered in 1970 to make it easier to handle and to apply and it was then marketed under a different name. There was no change in its active principle nor was its efficacy affected. The two products are accepted internationally as being between 95 per cent and 100 per cent effective against warbles and have been produced here by the same two firms throughout. They were also fully tested and found effective by my Department's veterinary research laboratory.
58.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware that large numbers of cattle which were treated for warble fly in 1971 are now re-infested; and what steps have been taken by his Department to ascertain why this is so.
I am aware that a proportion of cattle, even though properly treated last autumn, now show some evidence of warble infestation. Reports received by my Department indicate that the number of animals so affected is relatively small. As stated in my reply to a similar question on 31st May, the warbles in such cases do not as a rule mature to become capable of repeating the life cycle.
The Minister says they do not as a rule become capable of reproducing. Could he state roughly what proportion are capable of reproducing?
I think I said in reply to an earlier question that the products that are generally used for the treatment of cattle are between 95 per cent and 100 per cent effective. I understand that the mechanics of the effectiveness of the dressing is that if a grub, in the process of migration through an animal's body, happens to be in a layer of fat tissue at the time of application, that particular grub has a chance of emerging unscathed and fully maturing. It is not 100 per cent effective or cannot be made so, as far as I understand.
Question No. 59.
When the Minister refers to the figure of 95 per cent, am I to understand that the 5 per cent there relates to ones which not only survive but also are capable of reproduction and that there is within the 95 per cent figure a number of animals in the case of which they may recur but without the capacity to reproduce?
That would be a wrong basis to go on. The ultimate effectiveness of the application of the dressing would be determined, I should think, by the ability of the dressing to kill or render ineffective the emerging grubs. It is not 100 per cent effective and never was thought to be so.
59.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries the total amount paid by farmers for warble fly treatment of cattle in 1971.
This information is not available to me. My Department did not provide the warble fly treatment. However, on the basis of the fixed treatment charge of 20p per animal, the cost to herdowners of the treatment of the 5½ million cattle dealt with in 1971 could be put at about £1.1 million.