A LOCAL sheep farmer has warned that the withdrawal of Maedi Visna (MV) funding will be "disastrous" for the industry. 

Alastair Armstrong, who farms near Tempo, voiced grave concerns about a decision from Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) that could see funding for MV testing withdrawn, and replaced with an industry scheme that is instead funded by farmers.

MV is a chronic progressive disease in sheep and goats, with common clinical signs including lung disease, wasting and mastitis, all of which  have severe impacts on sheep health and productivity.

Cases in Northern Ireland are currently very low, but Mr. Armstrong warns that DAERA risks "throwing this away" by cutting funding.

"If this course of action is taken, MV could end up as the TB of the sheep industry", said the Fermanagh man who chairs the UFU's Hill Farming Committee. 

"If the Department aren't keeping up that surveillance on MV, it could end up in every flock, and it could be detrimental to commercial farmers.

"Cases are small in number, but this is all the more reason why it should be kept this way. If the Department wash their hands of it (MV testing), this could well become endemic throughout the sheep sector."

Mr. Armstrong fears that if MV is transmitted into Northern Ireland flocks, they will become less efficient and profitable, which will have a knock-on effect on the sheep sector as a whole.

Under the current scheme, DAERA tests flocks at random, with 19 ewes and one ram tested for the    highly contagious disease. 

The Department also samples any new arrivals into Northern Ireland from outside the island of Ireland, while animals imported from MV non-accredited flocks in Great Britain are sampled in isolation five-months after importation. 

However, these stringent measures could soon come to an end, spelling disaster for local shepherds.

“Sheep farmers feel like they have been completely forgot about by DAERA," Mr. Armstrong continued. "The withdrawal of MV funding is the latest blow that they are having to deal with. 

"With the way things stand currently, they are still set to lose 17 per cent of the Basic Payment Scheme and there is no more funding for the sheep scab scheme, all of which are placing the industry in jeopardy."

He added: "Becoming MV-free in the 80s took an awful lot of hard work and testing. If the Department are no longer policing it, it will very hard for the industry to step up to do so. 

"Overall, it's a big risk for them (DAERA) to take.  If the disease starts spreading again, it will be very hard to get back to the good position that we are in today."