AQW 7686/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 28/02/2024
Answered On Date: 12/03/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what action his Department is taking to support farmers who have had livestock prevented from entering Northern Ireland due to the bluetongue quarantine.

Answer:

DAERA officials continue to engage with colleagues across Great Britain on the next steps in respect of the Bluetongue disease control response.

Stakeholders are being updated weekly via email and through virtual meetings on the position in Great Britian to inform the commercial decisions that Northern Ireland farmers might take.

The DAERA website is updated regularly to inform industry on the disease picture in Great Britain. In addition, social media posts have issued to highlight the risk of a Bluetongue incursion and to advise keepers to be vigilant for clinical signs of the disease.