ICSA: 'Additional support' needed for bluetongue vaccination
Bluetongue vaccination must be supported as "an additional measure" and not at the expense of core animal health actions, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has warned.
Last month the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said that vaccination against bluetongue virus would be included as an "option" for farmers participating in the National Sheep Welfare Scheme (NSWS) or the Beef Welfare Scheme (BWS).
But Eoin Ryan, ICSA suckler chair said today (Thursday, April 2) that this approach by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) would force farmers to choose between "vaccinating for bluetongue or continuing with essential measures such as clostridial vaccines or pneumonia protection".
According to Ryan said this "is not a position any farmer should be put in".
He believes this is "simply shifting risk from one area to another" rather than strengthening overall herd health".
Bluetongue
Ryan added: “Bluetongue represents a very real and immediate threat to the national herd, with the potential to cause serious losses if farmers are not properly supported to vaccinate.
"But the response cannot come at the expense of other critical measures.
"The correct approach would be to provide additional, targeted funding, rather than trying to absorb it into already stretched schemes.”
He is also critical of the timing of the decision by DAFM to designate the bluetongue vaccination as an option at this time of the year.
“Spring is the key window for vaccinating calves, and with the breeding season about to commence, suckler farmers also need to be making decisions now around protecting breeding stock.
"In the case of bluetongue, animals should be vaccinated well in advance of breeding, so clarity and support are essential at this point to ensure farmers can act in time to protect their herds.
“With the increase in livestock values over the last 24 months, the need to vaccinate has never been more important to prevent the loss of valuable animals," he added.
According to the ICSA suckler chair the current approach is further "undermined" by what he believes are funding issues within the Beef Welfare Scheme.
Ryan believes that "at a minimum" DAFM should examine whether any unspent funds under schemes such as Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) can be used to finance additional vaccination measures.
"Farmers cannot be expected to absorb more cost or risk on the back of already reduced payments.
"If the objective is to build resilience in the suckler herd, then the policy must support farmers in doing more, not force them into doing less," he said.
