The first cattle to be killed under the BSE destruction scheme have been slaughtered. Only one plant was involved but most participating factories will begin destruction over the next few days. However, the Minister for Agriculture said the main priority is to regain commercial outlets so that good beef won't have to be destroyed.
The first plant to destroy cattle was in Freshford County Kilkenny where 300 cattle were slaughtered today. The destruction scheme, which has been in operation since Monday has been slow to start up, while the logistics and operational difficulties were ironed out. However, over the next few days about 4,000 cattle will be slaughtered under the destruction scheme in Waterford, Bandon, Clones and Carlow.
There are still no indications that a potential 25,000 cattle a week will be slaughtered. At a news conference this afternoon the Minister for Agriculture said he doesn't accept any more than 300,000 cattle to be destroyed. He said there had been no positives in 10,000 BSE tests, the other option for over 30-month-old cattle, since January the second.
The country's only plant for disposing of BSE risk material from carcasses, Monery in County Cavan, say that they'll be able to handle the additional business over the next few days. But a spokesman said they'd support the licensing of other plants to handle the extra SRM material. However, the Meat Processors Association say there may still problems at the rendering stage. Despite the BSE problems at the end of last year, Mr Walsh said farm incomes rose by 17% during the year 2000.
In Dublin today, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs is now being briefed by Department of Agriculture officials on the BSE crisis. The committee has heard officials say that the Department of Agriculture was completely transparent in its handling of the BSE crisis. It was also told the Department favours testing of animals over wide-scale culling.
It heard that since 2 January 10,000 animals have been tested and all have proved negative. Fine Gael's Ulick Burke has asked for an explanation as to why the Department has refused to identify the burial sites of animals culled. The meeting is still in progress. The Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh has said that processing of the BSE cattle for destruction scheme began this morning. He said that the scheme was ready to go since Monday, but it has taken some time to get it up and running.
In a separate development, management and union representatives at the Dawn Meat Plant at Ballyhaunis in Co Mayo are to meet later this afternoon amid fear that the company may be about to announce redundancies arising from the BSE beef cull. A SIPTU spokesman said there was concern that boners and packers at the plant may be laid off, as there may no longer work for them when the cull gets under way.
