Irish Farmers Told to Obey EU Law

Nov. 14, 2003 -- Farmers in Northern Ireland have been told to comply with new European laws aimed at combating scrapie in sheep.

Farmers with a confirmed case of scrapie now have the option of having all their sheep genotyped, free, to enable them to preferentially breed sheep for scrapie resistance. ?Producers are advised that they should only use the most resistant rams and remove their more susceptible sheep as soon as practical,? said a Department of Agriculture spokesman.

Producers also will receive assistance with regard to genotype testing of replacement animals to ensure they are of a scrapie-resistant genotype.

Goats on affected holdings must be disposed of, as they are not known to have scrapie-resistant genes.

Staff contact: Paul Rodgers, 304-647-9981

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