Farmers Cannot Bear any Additional TB Costs

IFA Animal Health Chairman TJ Maher has said the new EU regulations require animals moving from farm to farm or through the marts to be tested within a certain time frame.

He said “Initially, the requirements of the new regulations were to come into play in January 2022, on all animals moving without a TB test in the previous six months and without a herd test within the previous six months”.

“Following prolonged negotiations, significant progress has been made and the impact the regulation has on trade has been substantially reduced to focus on higher risk animals only – cows, and males over 36 months of age,” he said.

The Animal Health Chairman said “Payment of the additional testing is a red line issue for us, and the long-standing position of the IFA Animal Health committee is that farmers only pay for one annual TB test per year.  Any other additional statutory testing obligations or TB control programme requirements must be paid for by the Department. This position has not changed”.

“The Financial Working Group of the TB Forum has not agreed on the payment of the additional testing requirements and the implementation of the regulation has been deferred until February 2023. The IFA policy is clear that until there is an agreement within the Financial Working Group, the regulation must not be implemented,” he said.