February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Three new cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy were confirmed in Ireland last week as further evidence emerged of widespread fraud by Irish farmers, according to a report in the Sunday Independent newspaper.
Two of the new cases of mad cow disease were discovered in Cork, while the third was in Clare. All were found in older animals, aged between 6 and 9 years.
Since the start of 2001, there have been 49 cases of BSE in Ireland. However, because of the favorable trend in the age profile of animals with the disease, Irish beef had never been as safe as it was now, Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh insisted last week.
No animals born after 1996 have been detected with BSE, he said.
Meanwhile, the Irish government has ordered an urgent reevaluation of ewe premium applications around the country following the uncovering of fraud by sheep farmers in the Cooley peninsula.
The fraud involved payments of up to £130,000 under the EU ewe premium plan for animals that did not exist.
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The scam has been exposed as a result of the urgent cull of sheep to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in the area last month. New figures show that Cooley farmers made claims for 6,625 ewes that could not be located when the cull was carried out.
The department found irregularities in relation to claims on 100 of the 275 farms where animals were culled. Farmers in the area had put in claims for 37,165 ewe payments for this year at £19 a head. However, when the mandatory cull was carried out, only 30,540 eligible animals could be accounted for. The department investigators identified a hard core of 51 farmers who were responsible for nearly 90 percent of the false claims.
Meat prices buoyant
Meanwhile, despite the current foot-and-mouth crisis, prices for beef, sheep and pigmeat are buoyant because of the reduced supplies from the UK and the impact of the EU cull plan, Walsh said last week at the launch of his department’s Annual Review and Outlook 2000-01. He added, however, that it is difficult to assess the outlook for 2001 as a whole because of foot and mouth.
"The outlook for sheep and pigmeat is quite good, but I am concerned about the cattle market in the autumn after the purchase for destruction scheme ends and when pent-up supplies come on the market," he said.
Walsh said his officials had estimated that as many as 450,000 animals would flood the market in the late summer when the foot-and-mouth crisis ends and the EU’s purchase-for-destruction program ends in June.
Also, tests on sheep in Counties Louth and Cork have proved negative for foot-and-mouth disease, the Department of Agriculture confirmed last Thursday. Samples were taken from sheep at a farm near Dunleer, Co. Louth, and another at Watergrasshill, Co. Cork. Results from both sets of samples were received from the Pirbright laboratory in Surrey.
Meanwhile, Fota Wildlife Park, near Cobh, Co. Cork, has announced it is open to visitors. The Mountaineering Council of Ireland has reminded hillwalkers that restrictions are still in place and will be lifted on May 19. Hillwalkers should begin their walks in the national parks and on Coillte properties, the council advises.
Almost two-thirds of sales directors in the State say their businesses are being affected by the foot-and-mouth outbreak, according to a survey commissioned by Saleforce.com, the provider of the online Customer Relationship Management software.
The survey found that 42 percent of UK firms have been affected. About 5 percent of the sample related to firms in the agri-business or tourism sectors.