Take TB eradication to next level
23 October 2008
Ulster MEP Jim Allister has sought clarification on the Executive’s intentions in relation to its TB eradication policy, further to his securing a map which illustrated a clear correlation between TB strains in badgers and cattle.
The MEP said,
“Sammy Wilson’s Department of Environment has issued a licence to DARD, merely permitting that Department to undertake further sampling for TB among badgers. For testing purposes, up to 1000 badgers may be killed, but permission for a badger cull has not been granted.”
“Last year, I wrote to then Environment Minister Arlene Foster, asking if she was prepared to grant the necessary consent to permit DARD to proceed with a badger cull. As the badger is a protected species, any decision to intervene in badger populations requires agreement from both DARD and DOE Ministers. I am still waiting on DOE’s response.”
“I very much regret that as yet, the Executive has not conceded that an effective Bovine TB eradication policy must acknowledge the badger dimension.”
ENDS
