Excellent news for farmers who had made huge eradication sacrifices
He said the reduction was excellent news for farmers who had made huge sacrifices to address the problem, but added that the cost of the scheme has declined substantially, and called on the Minister for Agriculture and Food to reduce farmers’ contribution.
Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan has set the ultimate goal of brucellosis eradication as a realistic prospect, after cases were reduced by at least 50% over the past year. Laboratory positive cases were down by 66%, numbers of herds and animals depopulated by 60%, and there were only 144 new herd restrictions in 2005, representing a fall of almost 50% from 2004.
The number of blood positives and depopulations fell by 96% and 91% respectively between 1998 and 2005. The Minister attributed progress to an effective eradication regime, tightening up on illegal cattle movements through the Cattle Movement Monitoring System, regulation of dealers, prosecutions for breaches, etc.
“It is vital we continue to recognise brucellosis is a highly contagious disease and we do not relax or relent in our efforts to eradicate it from our national herd”.
