Farmers with TB-restricted herds are being prevented from buying in cattle – this is the view of The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA). The lobby group is also opposed to pre or post movement testing being imposed on farmers unless the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine commits to paying for them.
This week, ICSA animal health and welfare chairperson Hugh Farrell said: “We are opposing the imposition of pre or post movement testing in relation to TB-restricted farmers buying in cattle for further feeding until we have certainty that the department will pay for these tests.”
He commented that farmers who did not have feedlot status in the past were prevented from buying in cattle while restricted until such a time as they have a clear test. “With a lot of pressure, a recent change to rules has allowed TB-restricted farmers to buy in cattle. Unfortunately, this has been complicated by the addition of extra paperwork and possible additional testing requirements in respect of animals being moved in,” Farrell said.
“We are concerned about all sorts of additional bureaucratic requirements that are making life difficult for farmers who want to buy in stock for finishing.”
“This issue of preventing people buying in cattle has long been a contentious issue. A farmer who depends on buying in cattle at exactly the right time – depending on availability of grass or fodder; price considerations; length of keep, etc – is hugely disadvantaged if they cannot. We have made some progress to get this accepted in principle, but the problem is that we see the department coming up with bureaucratic barriers to prevent it happening in practice.”
“No one should be entitled to deprive anyone from earning a living,” he concluded.
LSL News.