Enda Kenny
Question:46 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps he has taken to deal with bovine botulism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18941/03]
Vol. 570 No. 4
46 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the steps he has taken to deal with bovine botulism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18941/03]
Botulism is not a notifiable disease under the Diseases of Animals Acts. However, samples from animals may be submitted for testing to my Department's central veterinary laboratory or regional veterinary laboratories at the discretion of a private veterinary practitioner or on request by a herdowner through his or her private veterinary practitioner. Recently, the attention of farmers was drawn again to the botulism problem and advice was given on precautions which should be taken.
Botulism is caused by a bacterium called clostridium botulinum that causes harmful effects by producing a toxin. There are five types of the botulism toxin, A, B, C, D and E. Types C and D are common to cattle. Bovine botulism can be contracted by contact with contaminated decomposing organic material such as poultry litter which contain dead poultry carcases when spread on land grazed by cattle. The recently adopted EU Animal By-Product Regulations (No. 1774/2002) forbids the spreading of organic material other than farmyard manure on pasture land. This would include chicken carcass material which must be removed from litter before spreading.