ICSA president Sean McNamara has said meat processors should immediately stop importing livestock from Northern Ireland in light of the increasingly precarious Bluetongue situation. “ICSA has serious concerns about the continued movement of animals across the border, particularly now that positive Bluetongue cases have been confirmed in the North and further cases are under investigation,” he said.

Continuing Mr McNamara said, “Midges spread Bluetongue. So, if a processor brings in sheep from the North that are carrying the virus, all it takes is for one midge around Athleague, Camolin, Navan, or wherever a factory is located, to land on an infected sheep. That midge then becomes infected too, and once that happens it can spread the virus to farms in the surrounding area. That is how quickly this disease can move.”

 “Hundreds of thousands of lambs are imported from the North every year purely as a tactic to keep a lid on prices here. But in a situation like this, processors cannot keep operating as if nothing has changed. They need to act responsibly and stop hauling animals down from the North until the full picture is known. Farmers and department officials on both sides of the border are doing everything in their power to contain the situation. Protecting the country from Bluetongue has to come first, and it is time processors did their part.”