Thomas Lyons 
Animal Health Ireland (AHI) has proposed a programme to eradicate infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) within 16 years from the start of intervention. The programme will be split into a ‘reduction phase’ and a ‘subsequent eradication phase’ and will be industry-led. The IBR Implementation Group has been set up to advance the eradication programme. Around 80% of dairy farms had been exposed to the virus in 2015. The proposed plan outlines a classification system with five statuses indicating lower or no prevalence of the disease. The programme would have some restrictions on movement, and animals will have to be quarantined and tested if introduced from herds with lower status. The cost of the programme is estimated to be between €30 million to €40 million per year until the end of the reduction phase. Farm organisations have backed the proposed programme in principle, but funding will be a significant bone of contention.
IBR is a highly infectious disease that may have significant implications for the trade in live animals. Other countries in the EU, including the Netherlands, are moving towards their own eradication programmes. The proposed programme is aimed at achieving EU recognition for Ireland of being IBR-free. The reduction phase of the eradication plan will include a vaccination programme. The programme aims to return a positive benefit to cost, align with the requirements of animal health law, facilitate live trade abroad, and ensure imported animals are not a risk.
The proposed programme will be industry-led and will have some restrictions on movement. Herds will be allowed to introduce animals from herds with the same or higher status. Otherwise, animals will have to be quarantined and tested. Simulations and models of the programme show that if all steps are implemented, eradication would be achieved 16 years after the start of the programme.
The modelling outlined a national cost of between €30 million to €40 million per year until the end of the reduction phase (the first 10 to 12 years of the programme). Farm organisations have backed the proposed programme in principle, but funding will be a significant bone of contention. Speaking to Agriland, Hugh Farrell, the animal health chairperson for the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), said that “proper funding” for any future programme was a prerequisite. Farrell added that the ICSA would not back a vaccination programme unless the issue of who pays the cost of it was resolved beforehand. TJ Maher, the animal health chairperson for the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), expressed similar sentiments, saying that addressing the funding aspect is the “key lesson learned” from the BVD Eradication Programme. “We are prepared to contribute if all parties contribute,” Maher said, adding that there are “other beneficiaries” of IBR eradication, not just farmers.
The proposed IBR eradication programme is aimed at achieving EU recognition for Ireland of being IBR-free. The programme will have some restrictions on movement, and animals will have to be quarantined and tested if introduced from herds with lower status. The cost of the programme is estimated to be between €30 million to €40 million per year until the end of the reduction phase. Farm organisations have backed the proposed programme in principle, but funding will be a significant bone of contention.
In conclusion, the proposed programme to eradicate IBR in Ireland is aimed at achieving EU recognition for Ireland of being IBR-free. The programme will be industry-led and will have some restrictions on movement. The cost of the programme is estimated to be between €30 million to €40 million per year until the end of the reduction phase. Farm organisations have backed the proposed programme in principle, but funding will be a significant bone of contention.
