Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 October 2004
91 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the position in regard to bovine tuberculosis eradication with particular reference to the number of incidents in the past five years; the way in which this compares with other jurisdictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24829/04]
View answerThe current TB eradication programme has brought about a significant improvement in the incidence of bovine tuberculosis, as the following table shows.
|
Year |
Herds in Country |
Herd Restrictions |
Reactors Removed |
|
2003 |
125,512 |
7771 (6.2%) |
27,978 |
|
2002 |
127,711 |
8338 (6.5%) |
28,930 |
|
2001 |
130,525 |
9195 (7.0%) |
33,702 |
|
2000 |
133,542 |
10785 (8.1%) |
39,847 |
|
1999 |
138,263 |
10660 (7.7%) |
44,903 |
The position in other EU member states is monitored by the EU task force on tuberculosis which visits the member states to evaluate each national programmes. However, there are no comparable statistics available from these member states though it is understood that the incidence in a number of other member states is lower. The most recent visit of the task force to this country was in June this year and a favourable report is expected. This was the first in a second round of visits to the member states and the situation in these countries will be evaluated in due course.
I am pleased with the progress shown under the current TB eradication programme. As can be seen from the above table, there has been a 40% reduction in the number of reactor cattle between 1999 and 2003 from approximately 45,000 to just under 28,000. The number of reactors in 2003 was the lowest in 20 years. This downward trend is expected to continue this year when the number of reactors is predicted to fall to below 25,000.
