State plan to kill badgers queried

Badgerwatch Ireland has criticised the Department of Agriculture and Food's decision to hire 75 staff to kill badgers later this…

Badgerwatch Ireland has criticised the Department of Agriculture and Food's decision to hire 75 staff to kill badgers later this year.

As part of the Partnership for Prosperity and Fairness deal, the Department has agreed to demands by farm organisations that special staff carry out the killings to reduce bovine TB levels.

A statement from the Department said that as part of the programme it was agreed that the incidence of TB should be reduced by 50 per cent, and that significant progress towards the eradication of brucellosis should be made.

"Among these was that there should be a proactive approach in each district veterinary office using 75 dedicated Department and farm relief service personnel to the removal of all sources of infection in the 20 per cent of the country which yields some 50 per cent of current TB reactors," said the statement.

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"Veterinary opinion both here and in the UK is that TB-infected badgers are acting as a major constraint to TB eradication. TB has been found in up to 24 per cent of badgers examined in 1998 and epidemiology reports have identified badgers as the most probable cause in up to 34 per cent of breakdowns. "Up to now the Department has operated five pilot badger removal projects and the results of these appear to indicate that the number of reactors disclosed in the areas concerned has fallen.

"The details of the programme have to be worked out in consultation with the farming and veterinary organisations before they are brought into operation on September 1st next." The Department confirmed that the "dedicated" personnel would be hired to remove badgers from areas where bovine TB levels were high.

A spokeswoman for Badger watch Ireland said she was "horrified" that the 75 people would be used to kill badgers, claiming it has not been scientifically proven that the animals are responsible for spreading the disease.

"This is very bad news indeed, especially since we made a complaint against the Department under the Berne Convention for using snares to kill badgers," she said.

The spokeswoman said there had been a well-orchestrated campaign against the badger by the farming lobby, adding that she feared that the estimates of 200,000 badgers in the country was too high.

"We are in danger of losing an entire species here when there is no clear evidence that the badger is responsible for the spread of the disease," she said. "While I appreciate the difficulties farmers face when their cattle get TB, I do not think the Irish taxpayer will be too happy about this." Since the scheme was privatised two years ago, the levels of the disease in cattle has risen to a 20-year high.