Go to war against TB, UUP urges Stormont
Mr Robert Carmichael, the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Party Association Chairman, has called on the Stormont Executive and especially the Agriculture Minister to implement a realistic and effective action plan “sooner rather than later” to combat the escalating instances of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.
Mr Carmichael, in a statement on behalf of the UUP association, said it was “vitally important the Stormont Executive worked together to effectively declare war on TB as levels in the Northern Ireland cattle herd continue to grow”.
Mr Carmichael added: “The financial cost to the industry is increasing year on year so we need to admit that TB in wildlife has to be addressed.
“This is putting a significant pressure on our farming community, which is already under tremendous stress because of the inheritance tax debacle. We in the UUP understand that the spread of the disease is partly due to transmission from wildlife, such as badgers.
“To the Stormont Executive, we in the UUP say - we need hard-hitting measures to control TB in cattle and especially a plan for targeted badger culls to combat the disease. We also understand that hedgehog numbers have dramatically decreased as well, with their only predator being the badger. This is forcing the badger to look at other wildlife prey to survive.”
Mr Carmichael added: “Our agricultural community, not just in my native East Londonderry, but right across Northern Ireland, has been hit hard in past years as a result of various diseases.
“Now is the time for the Stormont Agriculture Minister and his department along with his colleagues on the Executive to act as soon as possible to combat the potentially disastrous threat posed by bovine tuberculosis.
“This is not a case of me scaremongering or trying as an Ulster Unionist to score political points against an Alliance minister. We as a party simply want the minister and his department to act sooner rather than later.
“Our Stormont Agriculture Minister needs to show the same leadership in the battle against TB as in England, where in the past plans were implemented for a limited badger cull in designated TB hotspot areas over a four-year period.
“Such a cull here in Northern Ireland should be accompanied by a package of measures to curtail bovine TB in livestock.
“These are the measures our Stormont Executive needs to be taking to combat disease rather than the introduction of tabular valuations - a system to determine animal compensation - which will not prevent disease, but will penalise our farmers,” said Mr Carmichael.