Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill has announced plans to legislate for the compulsory testing for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) following a 12 week consultation earlier this year.
The Minister said: “Animal Health and Welfare NI announced their voluntary BVD eradication programme in January 2013, and following a public consultation, by my Department, on a proposal to make the testing of bovines for BVD compulsory, I intend to introduce legislation to support the farming industry in working together to eradicate BVD. This will result in improved cattle health and economic growth for individual herd keepers and the north as a whole and is in keeping with the all-Ireland animal health strategy.
“This legislation will put herd keepers in the north on an equal footing to those in the south of Ireland and in Scotland, as well as other EU Member States, where eradication schemes for BVD are already well under way.
This is of particular importance given the recent announcements in the US and Singapore to open their markets to beef exports.”
BVD is a contagious disease of cattle and is mainly spread by persistently infected (PI) cattle which are born with the disease. Its impacts are primarily felt at farm level and can have a significant impact on productivity.
Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI) is a not-for profit organisation’s set up by industry to lead on the development and promotion of programs to tackle production diseases such as BVD.
In total there were 44 responses to the public consultation. Of the 42 substantive responses 39 responses favoured the introduction of legislation.
(Source – Impartial Reporter – Brian Donaldson – Thursday, 19/12/2013)