A PROJECT to control the spread of TB in badgers - and ultimately cattle - is to enter a third year.
The Test and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) scheme began in 2014 in a 100 sq km area around Banbridge.
The region was chosen due to having a high prevalence of TB among cattle.
In the second year of the project, there were 692 so-called "badger capture events".
Around half of these were unique badgers with the remainder made up of those captured more than once.
Agriculture minister Michelle McIlveen encouraged for farmers and land owners to grant access to their land in the third of what will be a five-year project.
Already, 95 per cent have allowed department officials onto their property.
“The third year of the project will commence in late June/early July and, similar to year two of the project, will involve the capture of wild badgers, sampling, micro-chipping and vaccinating them against bovine TB with the removal, from the TVR area, of any badgers testing positive for bovine TB," she said.
“The worldwide shortage of BCG vaccine meant that the badger BCG vaccine used in years one and two was unavailable for purchase. It was possible, however, to obtain a supply of out-of-date BCG vaccine from the Welsh government.
“Whilst the Welsh government could not legally use this supply in a badger vaccination programme it will be permissible for DAERA to use it as part of TVR, given that it is a research project. DAERA officials are in the process of organising a stakeholder event for farmers in the TVR area, to update them on this development.”
The threat of bovine TB has been renewed over recent years.
The TVR project is just one scheme aimed at reducing the risk or eradicating the problem.
A study last year by researchers at Queen's University, Belfast found that farmers who wreck badger setts in an attempt to reduce bovine TB may actually exacerbate the threat posed by the disease.
The badger has long been associated with tuberculosis in cattle, though much controversy surrounds the effectiveness of culling.
Pilot culling projects in England have been branded a failure by some scientists.
The researchers found the risk of bovine TB was "significantly elevated" in areas of high badger social group density and high rates of persecution through sett interference.
