The Irish government has said that a suspected case of Mad Cow disease in the Republic of Ireland, which was announced on 11th June, has been confirmed as positive. In a statement, a DAFM spokesperson said; "The case was identified through the department's on-going surveillance system on fallen animals (that is, animals which die on farm)."

Authorities say that the case was isolated to a single animal. The infected cow was not presented for slaughter and did not enter the food chain.

The Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said that other animals that could have been exposed to BSE all tested negative after being slaughtered and excluded from food and feed chains.

The positive result is a blow for the Irish beef trade, which recently welcomed the decision by the World Animal Health Organisation to grant the Republic of Ireland a ‘negligible risk’ status in respect of BSE.

It was hailed it as a ‘landmark decision’ and ‘major step forward on BSE certification’. The new status reflected the huge progress made over many years in eradicating this disease from the national herd.

BVA and BVA Northern Ireland Branch reiterated that the swift identification and removal of the animal from the herd and food chain reinforces the importance of veterinary surveillance and the need to ensure that surveillance is prioritised and properly resourced by all governments.