Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
891. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he would consider a ban on the use of snares in light of the impact they are having on the protected badger population and other wildlife; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47383/23]
View answerBovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. I am acutely aware of the financial and emotional trauma associated with a TB breakdown.
It causes significant hardship for farmers and farming families, and I am fully committed to the objectives of the Bovine TB Eradication Strategy which aims to reduce and ultimately eradicate this disease in Ireland. This battle against TB continues in 2023.
Badgers are susceptible to the bovine TB organism, causing disease in badgers, passing disease throughout badger populations and between badgers and cattle. The role of badgers in the epidemiology of tuberculosis in the bovine herd is now incontrovertible.
Ensuring a healthy badger population through the removal of badgers in areas of high levels of TB as well as the vaccination of badgers in areas where it is appropriate to do so, is necessary both for the control of bovine TB and the health of the badger population and rural ecosystem.
A disease eradication programme necessitates that all sources of infection are addressed – this applies to both cattle and badgers.
The capture of badgers is carried out by trained operators using stopped body restraints, under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. All captured badgers are assessed from an animal welfare perspective. Captured badgers are either killed humanely or vaccinated. My Department expends significant resources in ensuring the consistent quality of its wildlife programme, to minimise animal welfare impacts.
