Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 Jun 1996

Vol. 466 No. 6

Written Answers. - TB Eradication Scheme.

Brian Cowen

Ceist:

139 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry his policy in relation to the East Offaly Research Project regarding TB eradication to repopulate the badger species within the project area in view of the fact that the badger was the source of the TB infection; whether the removal of the badger resulted in the reduction of incidence to 0.4 animals per thousand in what was previously a blackspot area; and the reason the healthy herds in the area are again to be put at risk as a result of the proposed repopulation of badgers within the project area. [11971/96]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mr. Yates)

I understand that the original study design for the east Offaly project envisaged an initial five year period during which time badgers would be removed from the area and a further five year observation period in which no badger removal procedures would operate. The purpose of the second component of the study was to assess the speed with which badgers would recolonise a vacant area of countryside and, second, to see if the disease patterns in the cattle population altered with such repopulation. The speed of repopulation is an important factor to evaluate in terms of its implications for national policy.

The results from the east Offaly project in terms of bovine TB levels after the first five years were such that it was considered that an extension of the removal period would yield more in terms of scientific knowledge than would be gained by moving on to phase two of the study. The current position is that the removal phase has been extended and is currently expected to continue until the end of 1998. Future policy will be determined on the results of the current study, a major report on which is expected later this year.