Weak Government and Poor Livestock Disease Control Threatens NI Food Industry says FFA
The Farmers For Action’s Steering Committee (FFA) are very concerned about in-action on livestock diseases affecting Northern Ireland’s family farmers and therefore impacting on wider agro-food industry.
The FFA say much of this is down to weak Government in Stormont. Top of the list according to Sean McAuley, FFA, is bovine TB.
The committee feels that for decades Government action to deal with bTB has got weaker and weaker due to protecting votes that could be lost due to animal rights objections and protests, worse still commonsense has been lost at huge cost to the taxpayer.
Sean McAuley said: “Northern Ireland was fined a considerable sum of money by the EU only a few years back over a 2year period for mis-using EU money that was given to Northern Ireland to eradicate bTB.
“I”nstead, NI’s weak Government delivered a fudged (and still does) control policy only.
“This all leads up to a TB epidemic across Northern Ireland which has now spread to other species such as deer, with the main carrier badgers.
“We now find out that this endangered species has now gone the other way with ten times more badgers being reported in Northern Ireland than was previously thought.
“Indeed England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland now have 65% of Europe’s badger population.”
Sean McAuley added: “We have TB infected badgers on the increase across Northern Ireland and therefore, increasing TB in cattle, then we have Schmallenberg which affects sheep, cattle and goats, with this disease devastating for many sheep farmers in NI last spring.
“Weak government did not have the foresight to keep a vaccine available, as due to lack of uptake some years back, the vaccine manufacturer couldn’t justify continuing.
“Blue tongue, which now affects England and threatens Wales and Scotland – experts have told Northern Ireland that with blue tongue it’s not a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’ this nasty disease which affects sheep, cattle and goats will arrive – yet no help forthcoming from our weak Government, reference the vaccine.”
“Therefore, NI’s valuable food processing industry is being threatened on all fronts of the supply chain down on the farm – with the ongoing threat of bTB, Schmallenberg, blue tongue, bird flu and even foot and mouth, 80% of the threat is due to weak Government in Westminster and weak Government in Northern Ireland.
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