Updated 22/04/15
In the last four years Northern Ireland has made great strides towards becoming officially Brucellosis free and the Union has been a key player in this. We have worked hard to raise awareness amongst farmers about the disease and supported the Brucellosis Control Scheme. In October 2014, the NI Agriculture Minister announced that there would be a relaxation of Brucellosis controls allowing for an increase from 12 to 24 months in the age threshold at which cattle require a brucellosis pre-movement test and an extension in the length of the related movement window from 30 to 60 days. This is a very positive step towards Northern Ireland achieving Official Brucellosis Free (OBF) status and if not further cases are reported we should be able to declare OBF in March 2015.
Being declared OBF would be a great achievement for Northern Ireland. It would mean substantial savings for farmers and the Government and it would open up new markets to us, in particular live export markets.
For more information visit http://www.dardni.gov.uk/brucellosis
