12 Feb 2025
Allister Webb
Job Title
Veterinary organisations are taking part in a new cross-sector initiative officials hope will yield a fresh plan for reducing bTB levels in Northern Ireland.
The North of Ireland Veterinary Association (NIVA) and the Association of Veterinary Surgeons Practising in Northern Ireland (AVSPNI) have welcomed the move, despite the latter group admitting doubts about its policy influence.
Meanwhile, a fresh evidence review has been ordered by Defra in the first major step towards the development of a promised new bTB strategy for England.
NIVA and AVSPNI are among 12 health industry and welfare bodies that are part of the new steering group, which is due to provide a delivery plan to Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) ministers by late March.
Northern Ireland CVO Brian Dooher, whose review of existing bTB policy led to the group being set up, said: “This is a new and radical form of bTB governance for Northern Ireland and will be a unique coalition in managing the disease.
“It is important that government engages with this form of partnership working and enters dialogue openly with stakeholders adopting a solution focused mindset.”
Both veterinary groups told Vet Times they welcomed the opportunity to contribute to efforts to tackle what NIVA called “a massive challenge”.
It added: “bTB is having a devastating impact currently in terms of animal, production and associated environmental losses, but also, just as importantly, the effects on the mental well-being of farmers and the financial stability and viability of their farms.”
But AVSPNI said it was “uncertain” about the group’s influence on final policy, as it pledged to urge DAERA minister Andrew Muir to “follow the latest science”.
It said: “We will encourage him to introduce measures including immediate wildlife intervention, more stringent testing where appropriate and allowing our members to become more involved in TB investigations on the ground.
“We believe the local knowledge and the relationship private veterinary practitioners have with farmers is key to changing the direction of TB control.”
However, its pro-cull stance is likely to be at odds with that of at least two other member organisations: the Northern Ireland Badger Group and USPCA, which jointly published a document setting out the case against culling in the summer of 2023.
But while Mr Dooher’s review contained 40 separate proposals for tackling the disease, it argued culling activity was “a necessary prerequisite” to enable a future vaccination campaign, described as a long-term aim, to be successful.
The paper also stressed that views against culling should be respected, but warned “progress towards eliminating the disease will be slower and complete elimination may be difficult” if non-lethal interventions proved less effective.
The division over culling reflects the long-standing scientific dispute over bTB control policy in England, where Defra pledged to develop a new cull-free strategy last summer.
The department has now commissioned the independent panel led by Sir Charles Godfray, which previously reviewed the issue in 2018, on whether there is “any substantive new evidence or analysis” that would affect its previous findings.
In its published terms of reference, Defra said the review would not be making policy recommendations, but would ensure the new strategy “benefits from the latest evidence and science”.
It added that the review could draw on both “the experiences of the devolved administrations” and strategies used in other countries.
The panel is expected to report its findings by the end of June and is inviting the submission of natural or social science evidence that may not be including in standard literature searches by email to [email protected] by 28 February.
