Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 May 2020
868. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proportion of beef both in quantity of cattle, tonnes of meat and percentage of both that is produced by feed lot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6015/20]
View answerAs part of the TB eradication programme, beef finishing herds, if they meet the necessary criteria, are allowed to avail of a special status, termed “Controlled Finishing Unit”. When a herd meets the criteria to be regarded as a ‘Controlled Finishing Unit’ under the TB Eradication Programme, the herd is restricted under the TB Regulations and a special official supervisory and testing protocol is established. Such herds are not exempted from testing, reactor removal or disinfection requirements.
Restricted Controlled Finishing Units are TB tested at least once a year. This Controlled Finishing Unit status arrangement allows the delivery of an effective level of disease risk management while controlling the risk of further disease spread in compliance with animal health legislation, and enabling business continuity in this particular type of enterprise through the inward movement of cattle. Cattle from Controlled Finishing Unit herds restricted under the TB Eradication programme are only permitted to move to a EU approved slaughter plant.
Data is published on a monthly basis on my Department's website which shows the number of cattle slaughtered from Controlled Finishing Units at approved beef exporting plants and this information can be found at
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/animalidentificationmovement/cattle/bovinebirthandmovementsmonthlyreports/
