TB hits cattle in east Wicklow

EAST Wicklow has become a bovine TB blackspot, with more than three times the national average for reactors.

According to Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith, the region has eight reactors per thousand tests, well above the national average of 2.5. “This is partly due to the fact that the region has experienced a number of very large breakdowns, with one herd alone disclosing 121 reactors.

In addition, 56% of the reactors in the region came from just 11 herds, and eight of those herds involved breakdowns that disclosed more than 20 reactors.”

Of the region’s 1,083 herds, 75% have been tested this year, resulting in 127 new herd restrictions, compared to 77 12 months previously. The number of reactors disclosed since January 1 is 641, compared with 365 in the same period last year.