Swann calls for urgent action on TB reactor cattle
Mr Robin Swann, the North Antrim Ulster Unionist Assembly candidate, has called on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to have cattle being tested for tuberculosis (TB) to be removed from farms within three days.
Mr Swann, who has served as a member of the executive committee of the Ulster Farmers’ Union and a past president of the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster, said he fully sympathised with the plight of farmers who had to take responsibility themselves for the isolation of so-called ‘reactor cattle’, suspected of requiring a TB test.
The North Antrim UUP candidate said: “The harsh reality is, we urgently require quicker reaction from DARD for the removal of reactor cattle.
“On the point of restrictions being applied on the supply of milk from herds that include reactor cattle, I would insist that reactor cattle should be removed from the farm by DARD within a minimum of three days.
“This would be more effective than a policy of isolation, which places additional burdens on the farmers themselves.
“Likewise, if tighter restrictions are to be applied by DARD, then it is absolutely essential that a more accurate TB test be developed and implemented,” urged Mr Swann.