IFA calls for better wildlife control in Co Wicklow to cut TB levels

Wildlife population control in Co Wicklow must be improved to bring the region’s level of TB incidence back in line with the rest of the country, says the IFA.

The figures for cases of TB in cattle herds in Wicklow are running at around double the national average. Department of Agriculture figures show that 7.4% of herds in Wicklow have been restricted due to TB infection, the same figure as last year for the county when the national average was 3.9%.

The IFA wants the Department of Agriculture to intervene in wildlife management programmes in Wicklow, notably in relation to badgers and deer, the primary sources of TB in Irish cattle herds. Nationally, the numbers of TB reactors have fallen by over 50% since 2000.