David McClarty (UUP)

The Speaker has received notice of a question for urgent oral answer, in accordance with Standing Order 20A, for the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Mr Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the circumstances surrounding the theft of 16 cattle infected by tuberculosis and brucellosis, which were under DARD responsibility on Castleblayney Road, Keady, on Monday 5 October and to outline:

a. what immediate action has been taken, or will be taken, by her Department to regain possession of the infected cattle;

b. what immediate action has been taken, or will be taken, to protect cattle across Northern Ireland; and

c. what immediate action has been taken, or will be taken, to stop a similar incident taking place in the future.

Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin)

The question is about the theft of 16 cattle infected by tuberculosis (TB) that were under the control of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) on the Castleblayney Road in Keady on Monday 5 October.

The contracted haulier arranged to collect 17 TB-reactor cattle from a herd in Armagh. Initial indications are that, when the haulier arrived at the farm, he was unable to negotiate the entrance with two trailers attached to his lorry. He unhitched the rear trailer and parked it in a lay-by in the area. He then returned to the farm to collect the 17 TB-reactor cattle. On arrival, he discovered that the animals that had been gathered for collection had disappeared; they are presumed stolen. On returning to the parked trailer, the haulier then discovered that the 16 TB-infected animals had been unloaded and had also disappeared. The theft is under investigation by the PSNI, and my Department will work closely with the PSNI and co-operate fully with that investigation. My Chief Veterinary Officer has written to the Chief Constable to underline the seriousness of the issue.

The theft of TB-reactor cattle is a very irresponsible action as those animals pose a significant risk of TB infection to any livestock with which they come into contact. All DARD field staff have been alerted to the theft and told to report any suspicions, as have the authorities in the South. I also ask any farmer who is offered cattle and whose suspicions are aroused to report the matter to the authorities. As this stage, there is no indication of the whereabouts of the cattle, thus it is not practical to apply any additional disease-control measures. I have stated publicly that the perpetrators of this crime have total disregard for the health status of the cattle population here and for the good reputation of the industry.

The question asks what immediate action is being taken to stop a similar incident taking place in the future. The contractor responsible for the collection of reactor cattle has been instructed to enhance security measures and precautions to prevent any recurrence of such an incident. DARD will also consider the need for additional safeguards as a result of the incident.

David McClarty (UUP)

I ask the Member to come to his question.

Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin)

I want to clear up a couple of points. First, this type of theft has never occurred in the North before, and my Department will review procedures as a result. I emphasise that the responsibility for this crime — it is a crime — rests with the people who committed it. Those people are content to undermine the good work that DARD and the industry are doing to control and eradicate major diseases.

The Member referred to diseases. The stolen animals were TB reactors, so there is a very low risk of brucellosis. Some of them came from a farm that had been closed down for brucellosis, but the animals concerned are not brucellosis reactors. The disease in question is TB; there is no risk of any other disease in this case.

The Department has to be robust in its dealings with animals. If an animal goes missing, for whatever reason, we have to know why that happened. We cannot allow farmers to put us in the position where our traceability systems do not stand up. In August 2007, there was an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England. We argued for our industry, and it was our robust traceability systems that saved our industry from the same types of restrictions that were placed on Britain at that time. We cannot allow those systems to be undermined in any way. We work with the industry and with the farmers’ unions, as we should, to ensure that we have the best traceability systems and that they are robust.

Ian Paisley Jnr (DUP)

The Committee echoes what has been said today about reporting any information to the police. I urge anyone who has any information about the matter to bring it to the attention of the police immediately and allow them to bring to book the person who is responsible for the theft, thereby ensuring that that person is punished properly and adequately.

However, we echo some of the concerns that have been raised. The beasts that were taken from the farm were under the duty of care of the Department, and that duty of care is being examined. We look forward to the outcome of that examination, and, if it is recommended that tightened regulations be put in place, we want to see that happen.

What value has been placed on the beasts that were stolen? Will the Minister inform the House of any communication that is going on with counterparts in the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the UK as a result of the theft?

Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin)

I do not have a valuation of the animals. An indicative value is around £1,000 a beast, so we are talking about a value of £17,000 for the 17 animals. However, I stress that that is a ballpark figure.

We informed the PSNI about the theft, and we talked to the Garda Síochána to let them know that the animals were in transit somewhere and that they should be on the alert. As has happened in the past, we have had to deal with the issue on an all-Ireland basis. That is because the threat of the TB-reactor animals to farms in the South is equal to the danger that is posed to farmers in the North. Our systems kicked into action straight away, and we informed all the necessary agencies.

Again, I appeal to people who have knowledge of the animals’ whereabouts to make it known to the authorities. The animals were to be lifted and taken away so that they could be destroyed. We do not want 16 or 17 animals that pose a risk to the industry to be located around the country. We are working very hard to eradicate TB and brucellosis, and I get angry about anything that is done to undermine that work. I am angry about this unfortunate incident; we did not want it to happen. We want to have robust systems in place, and we will be looking at all aspects of the incident to make sure that systems are tightened up.

Adjourned at 3.39 pm.