Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether any recent assessment has been made of the use of TB vaccinations for cattle.
Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs: The vaccination of cattle for bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is currently unlawful under domestic and European legislation.
However, my officials receive regular updates from colleagues in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) regarding their ongoing cattle vaccination project which also involves the development of a new diagnostic skin test which seeks to differentiate between cattle infected with bTB and those vaccinated for the disease (the DIVA test).
I understand that further field trials are currently taking place in England and Wales.
While implementation here would be subject to the necessary international approvals, should Defra’s work prove successful, cattle vaccination has the potential to be a valuable additional means of controlling this disease.
ENDS
Your MLA 