ISCSA predicts Limerick BSE find will be isolated incident

There is no "major cause for concern" over the discovery of BSE in a three-year-old bull in Co Limerick, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has said.

ICSA national president Mr Charlie Reilly said he believed the case would turn out to be isolated and "neither farmers nor consumers should overreact".

The Department of Agriculture earlier confirmed that a three-year-old bull had been diagnosed with BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) on a Co Limerick farm.

It is the youngest animal to have been found with BSE in the Republic and one of the few male animals to have been detected.

But Mr Reilly said: "Irish BSE testing and surveillance controls go well beyond those recommended by the measures recommended by EU scientific experts, and consumers should be reassured by these measures which eliminate the possibility of BSE infected materials entering the food chain.

"Less than 2 per cent of the cases identified to date this year are in animals less than six years old compared to 40 per cent in 2000. This clearly shows that as older cows are culled from the herd, over time the likelihood of BSE prevalence will become extremely unlikely," he said.