The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will discuss the eradication of bovine tuberculosis (TB) and the potential for a deer cull with the TB Stakeholder Forum and the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group. TB levels have increased in the past year, with nearly 5,000 herds affected and a notable increase in the number of reactors, with reasons including the expansion of dairy herds, intensive cattle farming, and increased cattle movement. An increase in wild deer numbers poses a threat to Ireland's native woodlands and a potential deer cull is being considered to mitigate the issue.