asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if his attention has been drawn to the fact that it has been alleged that a person (details supplied) in County Kildare has recently sent for slaughter an animal from within his herd which was found to be severely affected by bovine TB; that the person in question has not purchased any animals into his herd for the past several years and could not possibly have been the owner of the animal to which this query referred; if and when his Department will contact the person concerned with a view to the urgent resolution of any misunderstanding that may have arisen; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Bovine TB Allegation.
114.
The Director of ERAD has informed me that the incident in question arose from a clerical error by a factory employee who incorrectly co-related the ear-tag number of this herdowner's animal with the slaughter number of an animal found with lesions which were later confirmed as TB lesions by laboratory analysis.
I am satisfied that my officers at the factory acted in the interests of disease control. However, I regret the inconvenience caused to the person concerned. The diseased animal has been properly traced to the herd of origin.