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About BSE in Ireland

Disease Surveillance

In addition to the Targeted Active Surveillance and the BSE screening measures, the following surveillance and general control measures are in place:

  • BSE was declared a Class A Disease under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966, so as to benefit from the powers of compulsion in relation to restriction, control and slaughter provided for by that Act.
  • BSE is compulsorily notifiable under the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966. This places a statutory obligation on veterinary surgeons, farmers and all other persons in charge of bovine animals to notify the Department of Agriculture and Food of any such animal suspected of being affected by BSE.
  • The feeding of meat and bone meal to ruminant animals, either directly or through feedingstuffs, has been banned since 1990. Since 1st January 2001, the feeding of meat and bone meal has been banned for all farm animals intended for human consumption.
  • Veterinary surgeons and farmers have been alerted to the symptoms of the disease. A special information campaign was organised for veterinary practitioners, with the use of video material.
  • All suspect animals are visited by both a veterinary inspector from the local District Veterinary Office, and a veterinary research officer from the Veterinary Research Laboratory.
  • In abattoirs animals are examined ante-mortem for signs of diseases including BSE by an official veterinarian.

Control Measures

The following control measures apply where animals are either suspected of being affected by, or have been confirmed as cases of, BSE:

  • As stated, suspect animals are visited by both a veterinary inspector from the local District Veterinary Office, and a veterinary research officer from the Veterinary Research Laboratory. The suspect animal is euthanased, a sample of the brain tissue is sent for testing, the entire carcase of BSE suspect animals are frozen and retained by this Department, pending their ultimate destruction. The herd in question is immediately placed under official restriction and quarantined.
  • An inventory of the herd and an initial epidemiological investigation is carried out. The course of the disease is monitored for a short while, following which, where BSE is not ruled out, suspects are slaughtered and the brains taken to the central Veterinary Research Laboratory for examination using both standard histology and immunocyto chemistry.
  • If BSE was confirmed up to 4 April 2006, the entire herd was depopulated. With effect from 5 April 2006 the policy of whole herd depopulation was replaced by a partial depopulation regime which involves the removal of the cohorts (as defined in EU legislation) and progeny animals, with compensation paid at market value. This approach is in line with EU legislation and OIE requirements and it is now the standard practice in the majority of member states.
  • The slaughter of the animals being depopulated and destroyed is carried out in a special dedicated meat factory. The carcasses are then rendered into meat and bone meal at one specific rendering plant. The collection, transport, slaughter and destruction of the animals takes place under the direct control of the District Veterinary Office. The meat and bone meal and the tallow are excluded from the human food and animal feed chains, and is stored in secured premises supervised by the Department pending incineration.
  • Brain sections of all the adult animals being depopulated are extracted and sent to the laboratory for testing for BSE. The brains are examined by histopathology and immunocyto chemistry.
  • A full epidemiological examination of the BSE case takes place, including an examination of farm records and a search of the farm to determine if any evidence of potential exposure to meat and bonemeal can be found.

Exclusion of Specified Risk Material from human food and animal feed chains

The following portions of animals are designated as Specified Risk Material and are excluded from the human food and animal feed chains:

  • the skull, brain, eyes, tonsils and spinal cord of cattle over 12 months and the intestine from the duodenum to the rectum of bovine animals of all ages;
  • the skull, brain, eyes, tonsils and spinal cord of sheep and goats that are over twelve months of age or that have one permanent incisor erupted through the gum and the spleen of sheep and goats of all ages.

These materials are isolated on slaughter of the animals, permanently stained and removed directly to a specially dedicated rendering plant, where they are rendered and the resultant meat and bonemeal and tallow are stored pending destruction by incineration.

Manufacture of Meat and Bonemeal

Meat and Bonemeal is an inevitable by product of the beef industry. It will, therefore, continue to be manufactured, and temporarily stored, pending destruction.

There are 7 rendering plants in the State which manufacture meat and bonemeal. These operate under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture and Food and are licensed under the provisions of the Diseases of Animals (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) (No. 2) Order, 1996. (SI No. 278 of 1996). In addition 1 other plant renders specified risk material (SRM) prior to its eventual incineration outside the state. All rendering plants are approved in accordance with E.U. Council Directive 90/677/EEC and validated in accordance with E.U. Commission Decision 94/382/EC. All are supervised by full-time staff of the Department of Agriculture and Food. From 1 April 1997 E.U. standard that material must be rendered at 133? C under pressure of 3 Bar for 20 minutes is applied to all plants. EPA approval is at present under consideration for two additional dedicated SRM rendering plants.

Control of Meat and Bonemeal

The production, movement and storage of meat and bone meal (MBM) are carried out under the supervision of the Department. Rendering plants involved in the production of MBM must be licensed under the provisions of the Diseases of Animals (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) (No. 2) Order, 1996 (S.I. No. 278 of 1996 refers), to manufacture MBM.

As part of this licensing system, rendering plants must keep records of sales of MBM for up to 8 years. These records are inspected on a regular basis by officers of the Department of Agriculture and Food. Sales of meat and bone meal can only be made to those holding a valid licence under the above-mentioned 1996 order. MBM can only leave a rendering plant if accompanied by a movement permit signed by an Official of the Department.

The situation with regard to the feeding of meat and bone meal to animals is as follows:

  • the purchase of meat and bone meal is prohibited except under licence.
  • the incorporation of meat and bone meal into animal feedingstuffs is prohibited except under licence
  • the feeding of meat and bone meal to ruminant animals (cattle, sheep, goats, deer) has been prohibited since 1990.

Prohibition on the use of certain processed animal proteins for feeding to farmed animals kept, fattened or bred for the production of food

Following the transposition of Council Decision No. 2000/766/EC of 4 December 2000, and Commission Decision No. 2001/9/EC of 29 December 2000, into National legislation under the provisions of the European Communities (Processed Animal Proteins) Regulations (2000) (S.I. No. 486 of 2000 refers) the feeding of the following

  • meat and bone meal, meat meal, bone meal, blood meal, dried plasma and other blood products, hydrolised proteins, hoof meal, horn meal, poultry offal meal, feather meal, dry greaves, fishmeal, dicalcium phosphate obtained from defatted bones, gelatine, and any other similar products including mixtures, feedingstuffs, feed additives and premixtures, containing these products;

to any farmed animals (including poultry), which are kept, fattened or bred for the production of food, is prohibited with effect from 1 January 2001.

The following controls apply to the use of meat and bone meal for the manufacture of feedingstuffs intended for non- farmed animals which, are not kept fattened or bred for the production of food

  • The incorporation of MMBM into non-farmed animal feedingstuffs intended for animals which are not kept, fattened or bred for the production of food is prohibited except under licence under the provisions of the Diseases of Animals (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy)(No 2) Order, 1996 (S.I. No 278 of 1996).

However the use of MBM in the manufacture of animal feedingstuffs intended for feeding to animals, which are not kept, fattened or bred for the production of food, has ceased in this country. No animal feed manufacturing plants in the Republic of Ireland are therefore currently licensed to purchase or incorporate MBM for domestic carnivores or any other non-farmed animals which are not kept, fattened or bred for the production of food.

Fishmeal

With effect from 1st January 2001, fishmeal may no longer be fed to ruminant animals. Those wishing to import, manufacture or incorporate fishmeal into animal feeds may do so only under licence of the Department of Agriculture and Food. A similar licencing arrangement operates in relation to farms wishing to use fishmeal in feed for non-ruminants. Feed mills using fish meal are prohibited from manufacturing feed for ruminants in the same plants in which they manufacture non ruminant feed containing fishmeal, and farms intending to use feed containing fishmeal will, inter alia, be obliged to ensure that there is adequate segregation between ruminant and non ruminant animals and that there is no possibility of cross contamination.

Feedingstuffs Industry

All mills involved in the manufacture of animal feedingstuffs are under the supervision of full time Agricultural Inspectors of the Department of Agriculture and Food. Regular inspections are carried out and the feed is monitored using the microscopic test for bone fragments.

Irish Beef

Policy in regard to the Irish beef sector is designed to ensure a high standard of public and animal health and to provide the strongest possible guarantees to customers and consumers. A comprehensive series of controls is in place in relation to BSE. These controls, detailed above, go beyond what is recommended by scientific evidence or recommended by international organisations. All beef comes from animals that are slaughtered in approved premises, which are subject to official veterinary supervision.

Ireland's animal health position

Ireland has a high animal health status and its agricultural products have access to the most discerning markets worldwide. Irish beef is recognised as a good product, produced in a clean environment under good conditions and in accordance with good standards of husbandry. Ireland's cattle production is predominantly grass based and is based on a largely self-contained national herd.

Having regard to the fact that BSE is generally regarded to have been caused by the recycling through meat and bonemeal of infected sheep and cattle tissue feed, it should be noted that there is an extremely low incidence of sheep scrapie (which is also a notifiable disease) in Ireland. The ratio between its sheep and cattle population (approximately 1:1) also reduces the risk factor to BSE.

In view of the criteria adopted by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) Ireland can claim, for the purposes of international trade, the status of a country with a low incidence of BSE. The low level of the disease in the country has also been recognised by the European Union.

Animal Health Division