Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2021
954. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a second BVD test can be carried out on the herd owned by a person (details supplied); the action to be taken by his Department and herd owner; the costs involved; and the reason for the change of rule in this regard. [23773/21]
View answerThe national BVD eradication programme was established in 2013 and is directed by Animal Health Ireland’s BVD Implementation Group, which is made up of a variety of industry stakeholders including farm organisations.
In 2013, 13,877 (0.67%) BVD infected calves were detected in 9,484 herds (11.27%) and this fell to 720 (0.03%) BVD infected calves detected in 403 (0.56%) herds in 2020. While this represents considerable progress, there has been a growing frustration among farmers that the disease has not yet been eradicated. The objective now is to advance rapidly towards eradication.
The rules for the recognition of national BVD-free status have been set out in the EU Animal Health Law which came into effect in April 2021. In summary, to achieve BVD freedom, 99.8% of herds comprising 99.9% of animals in the country must be free of BVD and there must be no confirmed cases of BVD in the country for a minimum of 18 months.
Notwithstanding the great progress made over course of the programme to date, the industry Implementation Group has concluded that the BVD freedom will not be achieved in the short to medium term without a significant intensification in the controls applied to herds where BVD test positive calves are identified. The Group agreed on the following enhanced measures to the Programme, which were put in place since this year in order to progress to BVD free status for Ireland:
1. No confirmatory testing of calves on their initial test;
2. Movement restrictions in test positive herds to prevent the onward movement of any potentially transiently infected cattle;
3. Blood testing of all animals in herds in which test positive animals have been identified to detect any unidentified infected cattle; and
4. Vaccination of breeding animals in these herds for two years to prevent the generation of any further BVD infected calves.
On the basis of this enhanced programme, the Department is providing considerable support to the programme by financing the blood sampling, laboratory testing and the vaccination elements of these enhancements. These supports vary based on herd size, but have been estimated at €22 per cow in breeding herds.
While these measures may be an inconvenience to those herds affected, the disease itself is a cause of considerable economic loss to Irish farmers, with the cost per infected cow estimated at a conservative €63. The national screening programme is currently costing farmers in the region of €7-9m per year. Re-testing of screening-test positive animals has the potential to prolong the time period within which Ireland can achieve BVD free status and prolong the need for this national herd screening. It is of critical importance that all farmers work with the Department and AHI in bringing the programme to a successful conclusion, and achieve BVD free status for Ireland. It is envisaged that individual testing of calves will cease on the attainment of BVD freedom.
As regards the herdowner concerned, a nominated trained veterinary practitioner will work with the herd to conduct an epidemiological investigation, all animals in the herd will be blood tested for BVD with removal of any positive or inconclusive animals and all female animals aged over 12 months will be vaccinated. These measures will be funded by my Department.
