Farmers warned of sharp increase in prevalence of blackleg

Affected animals are often found dead.

The Department of Agriculture said that while the factors causing these large outbreaks are unclear, prevention is very straightforward.

Farmers are being warned of a sharp increase in the prevalence of blackleg diagnoses in cattle.

The Department of Agriculture has said that its regional veterinary laboratories have seen a rise in cattle referred to them for postmortem, with some quite large outbreaks in farms around the country with no prior history of the disease.