SHARING OPTIONS: The ICSA said there had been significant reluctance on the part of the Department of Agriculture to tackle the issue. \ Philip Doyle New research confirming the link between Sika deer and the spread of bovine TB must inform the TB eradication strategy going forward, Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) animal health and welfare chair Hugh Farrell has said. The research states that there is evidence that higher levels of TB in cattle are associated with higher local densities of Sika deer. “It is clear now that any push to eradicate TB must include a strategy to control wild deer populations in order to control the spread of TB,” Farrell said.