Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 May 2021
233. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of TB outbreaks in controlled finishing units in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28540/21]
View answer234. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the necessary criteria required to avail of the special status termed a controlled finishing unit; the exemptions or benefits that are acquired as a result of this status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28541/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 234 together.
As part of our TB eradication programme, beef finishing herds, if they meet the necessary criteria, are allowed to avail of a special status, termed “Controlled Finishing Unit (CFU)”.
A CFU herd is a specialised finisher of beef that does not deliberately engage in the active breeding of animals. It is a non-breeding herd which disposes of all cattle on the holding direct for slaughter and poses a minimal risk of infecting cattle on adjacent holdings by fulfilling at least one of the following three criteria:
1.the cattle are permanently housed (never on pasture) or
2. there are no contiguous holdings with cattle or
3. the boundaries are walled, double fenced or equivalent so as to prevent any direct contact with cattle on contiguous holdings.
When a herd meets the criteria to be regarded as a CFU under the TB Eradication Programme, the herd is restricted under the TB Regulations and a special official supervisory and testing protocol is established. Therefore, as CFU herds continue to be restricted on an on-going basis they are not counted as having outbreaks of TB and, as such, the information requested is not available.
Such herds are not exempted from testing, reactor removal or disinfection requirements. Restricted CFU herds are TB tested at least once a year. The CFU 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 CFU herds restricted under the TB Eradication programme are only permitted to move to a EU approved slaughter plant. Cattle from CFUs may not be exported.
