Ireland’s TB herd incidence hits highest rate in 15 years
Many farmers may have questions in relation to the testing and the new TB testing restrictions introduced last year.
The rate at which herds are breaking down with TB in Ireland has hit its highest level in a decade.
The latest TB statistics published by the Department of Agriculture show a 6% herd incidence in 2024.
Herd incidence figures illustrate the number of herds experiencing a new bovine TB (bTB) breakdown in the last 12 months, recorded on a rolling basis. The higher the number, the more farms across the country have been closed with TB over the last year.
The figures, which remain provisional at this stage, cover the rates of bTB for the fourth quarter of 2024.
They show a significant increase from figures the year previous, which were recorded at 4.89% within a similar period.
It is a sharp increase in comparison to the third-quarter figures for 2024, which the Department of Agriculture confirmed to be at 5.62%.
This herd incidence of 6.03% is the highest yearly herd incidence rate recorded since 2010.
Speaking with the , Matt Hurley, chairperson for IFA Cork Central, said: “With so many breakdowns in most areas at this stage, people would be quite worried about it.”
In 2010, the Central Statistics Office recorded a TB herd incidence of 4.65% for the end-of-the-year figure. This was beaten for the first time in 2023 with an overall herd incidence figure of 4.94%.
The provisional data from the Department of Agriculture also showed the number of reactors were at 41,630 from December 31, 2023 to December 29, 2024.
It’s a 44% increase on the 28,868 reactors recorded from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.
The number of herds restricted has also increased from 5,078 (January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023) to provisionally 6,142 (December 31, 2023, to December 29, 2024).
“I don’t know if this is just another surge and it will drop again, but the department really has to get on top of the wildlife situation, especially badgers and to a certain extent deer as well,” said Mr Hurley.
The report also highlighted areas in Monaghan, Cork, and borderlands in the centre of the country to have a high concentration of new restrictions in the last 12 months of 2024.
“It’s a multifaceted problem between badgers, deer, and cattle-to-cattle spread. It’s getting to be a very serious problem at this stage. There are an awful lot of farmers affected by it. It’s terrible really. It's ruinous to a business because it can just take you out overnight without warning,” said Mr Hurley.
