The number of cattle testing positive for TB on Clare farms more than halved last year.
Less than 1 in 500 animals were considered ‘reactors’ in Department of Agriculture tests in this county in 2021, compared to around 1 in 250 back in 2020.
Figures released following a parliamentary question from Galway-Roscommon Independent Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice show more than 362,000 TB tests were undertaken in Clare last year.
That’s a drop of around 10 percent on the 393,000 tests taken back in 2020.
However, that year more than 1,500 cattle came back as ‘reactors’ in Clare – in other words, testing positive for TB.
That number reduced to just 629 in 2021.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue says the disease causes ‘untold hardship’ for farmers and farming families and says his Department is dedicated to eradicating the disease.
He believes the ongoing Bovine TB Eradication Strategy will provide the ‘building blocks’ for Clare farmers to lower disease incidence and reduce the challenges associated with the condition.
