Vol. 352 No. 5
asked the Minister for Agriculture the total number of reactors that have shown up as a result of the 30 day herd test (a) in the country and (b) in each county; the effect this test is having on the eradication of bovine tuberculosis or otherwise; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
229.
asked the Minister for Agriculture the total number of herds affected by TB as a result of the purchase of the 30 day tested cattle; the number of these herds that never had a reactor to the purchase of these thirty-day tested animals; the effect of this situation on the eradication of bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 228 and 229 together.
Since its introduction in 1978 pre-movement testing of cattle for bovine TB and brucellosis has disclosed more than 10,000 reactors. A breakdown on a county basis is not readily available.
Epidemiological surveys carried out by my Department in 1982 and 1983 into the causes of Bovine TB breakdowns suggest that in about 14 per cent of cases the infection may have been attributable to bought-in animals. It is not possible to say what proportion of these herds had a completely clear TB history before the breakdown. Experience prior to 1978 when the statutory pre-movement test was introduced was that a majority of disease breakdowns could be traced back to infected cattle bought into a herd.
The value of the pre-movement test is that it offers protection to the purchaser against buying-in diseased animals, and enables infection in the herds of origin to be detected and tackled much earlier than would be possible by the annual rounds of testing alone. Because of the enormous volume of cattle movement, it plays a vital role in the disease eradication programme.
