Deer suspicion in Clare TB outbreak
They say the rise in the disease over the past year has coincided with a noticeable increase in the prevalence of deer in the county, associated in turn with increased afforestation.
Clare IFA chairman Seamus Murphy recently requested, during a meeting of the IFA National Council, that more deer be tested to check for any link with the rise in bovine TB.
He said that 15 deer had been tested and they showed a high percentage of TB infection.
There has also been an increase in the incidence of TB infection in herds in some parts of North Tipperary and East Limerick over the past year.
It has appeared on many farms along the line of the new N7 road being built between Limerick to Dublin, which has further mystified farmers anxious to trace sources of the disease.
