Eight herds in the Murroe area in east Limerick are now restricted after more than 90 TB reactors were found in a herd of cattle, it was learned yesterday. Most of the affected herds had between eight and 15 reactors.
One farmer had 10 reactors, including five pedigree Friesians, which he had bought for £1,000 each. He was paid £152 by the factory for each animal and got a grant of £400 for each, leaving him with a loss of £450 on each cow.
The Benedictine Glenstal Abbey farm also had its current herd restricted, but a test of the herd last weekend was clear, according to farm administrator, Father Philip Tierney, OSB. The farm lost a complete dairy herd in a brucellosis outbreak 10 years ago.