Deer and TB

Mid cork

Well-Known Member
Had the herd test today. Six reactors, all six part of a bunch of twelve 1 1/2 year old bullocks that we moved to a piece of ground last April that is not suitable for tillage. The place is less than a mile away and is completely surrounded by tillage fields so no other cattle had any contact with them. I don’t think there are any badgers there but a man living near by told me he has see deer around there a few times in the last year or so. Could they be giving it to the cattle? All the cattle at home were clear and we haven’t had TB for years.
 
Badger can travel up to 8 mile at night the dept says.was there any roads built or forestry cut even within 2 or 3 mile of where the stock is , that there habitat was disturbed.when they bail out like that they bunk up with relations the same as us.
Did that man ever see badgers out during the day.if he did there rotton with it.
A forest on a neighbouring farm is going to be cut in a few months here and its alive with them so im not looking forward to it.it wont affect the owner as dept took all his cattle this year on welfare grounds anyway
 
An area near me had awful trouble with tb 6 or 8 years ago and apparently it was the deer coming in from forestry were carrying it.
 
Badger can travel up to 8 mile at night the dept says.was there any roads built or forestry cut even within 2 or 3 mile of where the stock is , that there habitat was disturbed.when they bail out like that they bunk up with relations the same as us.
Did that man ever see badgers out during the day.if he did there rotton with it.
A forest on a neighbouring farm is going to be cut in a few months here and its alive with them so im not looking forward to it.it wont affect the owner as dept took all his cattle this year on welfare grounds anyway
No there hasn’t been any work like that done around here lately. The reason I suspect the deer is that they seem to have only arrived recently.
 
Had the herd test today. Six reactors, all six part of a bunch of twelve 1 1/2 year old bullocks that we moved to a piece of ground last April that is not suitable for tillage. The place is less than a mile away and is completely surrounded by tillage fields so no other cattle had any contact with them. I don’t think there are any badgers there but a man living near by told me he has see deer around there a few times in the last year or so. Could they be giving it to the cattle? All the cattle at home were clear and we haven’t had TB for years.

Sorry to hear that. If nothing else , it causes a lot of stress on man and beast , the testing every couple of months.

2 TB outbreaks of lads with outfarms joining me. 6 and 8 dairy cows . One of the herd owners has forestry adjoining several pieces of land that he owns . I personally blame forestry for a lot of the outbreaks.

Heard of one dairy herd lately with 46 calves down , and a smaller number of cows. Very rare to hear of calves.
 
Had the herd test today. Six reactors, all six part of a bunch of twelve 1 1/2 year old bullocks that we moved to a piece of ground last April that is not suitable for tillage. The place is less than a mile away and is completely surrounded by tillage fields so no other cattle had any contact with them. I don’t think there are any badgers there but a man living near by told me he has see deer around there a few times in the last year or so. Could they be giving it to the cattle? All the cattle at home were clear and we haven’t had TB for years.
sorry to hear that, were they the bullocks you decided to hold onto last spring ?
 
That is a pain, I hope it doesn't put your system under too much pressure and that it was a one off.
 
We were told a few years ago that there were Deer nearby but never saw them until the nephew got the heat seeking camera. I thought I heard them one night during the winter. I think they are everywhere.
 
Sorry to hear that. Would there be any maize about the area they go mad for the stuff
Yea, there would be fair bit of maize around. There was a few very bad outbreaks on the other side of the parish recently, big dairy herds that lost a lot of cattle to tb. I heard this morning that deer are blamed. I think @Bog Man is correct, the feckers are everywhere only you don’t see them.
 
Yea, there would be fair bit of maize around. There was a few very bad outbreaks on the other side of the parish recently, big dairy herds that lost a lot of cattle to tb. I heard this morning that deer are blamed. I think @Bog Man is correct, the feckers are everywhere only you don’t see them.
If your out for a stroll just go into a field of maize or two and see if you can see any maize flattened on headlands be a sign of badgers. We always ask the lad cutting here if he spots anything like that and if he does we go investigating
 
We would have a good share of deer around us, they are particularly bad near a leased farm that I have. I am not mad about them at all but you couldn't keep them shot even if you got the appropriate license to do so we just leave well alone really. Try to cut silage twice yearly in the field that they frequent most, and spread slurry frequently there also. They don't like cattle slurry so they generally stay out of the field completely for the first 3 weeks after spreading. Amazing how much grass they graze. We try to close the field for the winter, say on November 20th after taking a late grazing with it being as bare as we can graze it at that stage. You could come back in say late February and the deer would have it grazed down to the clay nearly.
 
We have seen here. They don't pull down fences at all. Got a section 42 earlier in the year and got a few cleared out. The lad who was doing the shooting is gone bit loopy now so dont trust him with a gun on my land. I think the gun should be taken off him tbh

I was looking for a section 42 here before in order to get a licence to shoot deer out of season. I couldn't at the time as I needed a deer licence first so I had to wait it out. However, it would never be awarded on the basis of TB as there would be no evidence, it would have to be for reasons like physical damage to crops or fencing.
 
I applied years ago too and didnt get it. Was very straightforward this year. Woman from irish parks and wildlife rang me up and asked a few questions after we sent in the form.
 
I was looking for a section 42 here before in order to get a licence to shoot deer out of season. I couldn't at the time as I needed a deer licence first so I had to wait it out. However, it would never be awarded on the basis of TB as there would be no evidence, it would have to be for reasons like physical damage to crops or fencing.

Do you need the deer hunting licence yourself or could you get someone that had it to do the job for you?
The brother thinks lads aren't as interested in the shooting this year as he thinks the price for deer has halved.
 
Firstly, I am very sorry to hear that you have gone down with TB - it is heart-breaking.

Secondly - apologies while I proceed to write a Gospel. (I have worked in the UK for the last few years but have a fair idea of what is going on in Ireland too)
A few things can mitigate a TB breakdown

1. Residual infection (infection in the herd which hasn't been fully cleared out) - you have said this is unlikely since your herd hasnt had TB for years. Have these animals been in contact with any bought-in stock / neighbouring stock in their lifetime? ...remember that TB is a typically slow moving infection. (same family of bacteria as johne's disease in which a calf can be infected and not show up as positive until over 2 years old)
2. Neighbouring herds - you have said that tillage is all around, so unlikely cattle to cattle contact.
3. Slurry / Manure - have you used any slurry / manure from TB infected herds on your ground? (probably unlikely but TB can survive in faeces if conditions are favourable and faeces has not had time to decompose / not been stored for long enough prior to spreading)
4. Wildlife - certainly an option. consider the installation of a wildlife camera at several locations around the pasture (you can get them on Amazon for about £40 for a cheaper starter one)
Walk the field boundaries - you will be surprised that you can see tracks where badgers travel. Badgers go through areas of activity and dormancy and so setts can be active and dormant from year to year.
Badgers are attracted to high energy starchy stuff - so maize is certainly an attraction to them (especially when there is thick cover for them), they also like molasses containing concentrates?
Do you feed mineral licks on the ground? Do you feed meal on the ground or in a trough that could be accessed by badgers? Do you have low water troughs / stagnant water? (TB can survive in water for 60-90days if conditions are favourable)

Certainly deer is an option - however, they are not seen as the main intermediate host in the life cycle of bovine TB - but that said the exact risk from deer is unclear as there is little data on levels of TB excretion, local deer abundance and contact with cattle.

I would urge you to have a look at the following website for loads of information about TB (really sound, practical information and not jargon heavy) https://www.tbknowledgeexchange.co.uk/tb-fact-sheets/
https://www.tbknowledgeexchange.co....KE_BovineTB_in_deer_and_other_UK_wildlife.pdf
 
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