Badgers and Bovine TB

At present in some parts of England there is a relatively high incidence of bovine Tuberculosis (Bovine TB) in cattle.  Farmers and vets are keen to eradicate Bovine TB and they believe that one of the main reasons for the continued presence of Bovine TB is that badgers are carriers and therefore pass it onto cattle.  They believe that one way to help control and eradicate Bovine TB is to cull badgers in the areas of the country where Bovine TB is prevalent.

All cattle are tested every one to four years depending on the locality of the farm.  Badgers were first linked to cattle in 1971 when the bacterium was found in a badger carcass.  In response to this, badger culling was underaken in locations where Bovine TB had occurred, though in the last 30 years the culling strategies have changed several times. 

It has been suggested that in areas where there are large groups of badgers and a high incidence of Bovine TB, that badgers are culled.  This would be a large enough area to cause localised extinction in the badger population.  It is thought that this would prevent the spread of Bovine TB in cattle and ensure that farmers lose fewer cattle to the disease.

However, it has been proved from previous culling research that when badgers are culled within an area, those badgers that are on the periphery of the culling are socially disturbed by the culling and this results in movement of the badgers on the edge of the area which is known as the perturbation effect.  In this research it was clearly shown that where badger culling took place, there was actually an increase in the levels of Bovine TB in cattle, not a decrease as was hoped.

Essex Wildlife Trust does not support the cull and believes that recent scientific findings suggest that badger culling over large areas is not only impractical but will result in potential negative effects through perturbation.  This will be exacerbated because of the difficulty of removing all badgers from a Bovine TB hot spot, because they have the ability to avoid traps and snares, and the potential use of a closed season when females are lactating.  We also believe that there will be significant non-cooperation of landowners to a badger culling policy, which will mean the complete extinction of badgers in an area is not possible so the perturbation effect will apply.    

Essex Wildlife Trust accepts that Bovine TB in cattle is a significant problem for farming in the UK and that urgent action is needed to combat the disease.  We believe that cattle-to-cattle transmission is the most significant route of infection for Bovine TB and that Government action should focus on addressing the issue.  Action to reduce the disease should involve improvements in cattlle testing and stricter movement restrictions.

More long term investment to tackle the disease is required to develop an effective vaccine for cattle and if new scientific evidence were to be produced, Essex Wildlife Trust would review their current position on opposing the badger cull. 

In July 2008 the Essex Wildlife Trust welcomed the announcement from Environment Secretary Hilary Benn rejecting a badger cull as a solution to combating bovine TB in cattle.

Essex Wildlife Trust hope that this announcement will now provide the basis for the farming community, conservation organisations and the Government to work together to confront this disease through the following measures:

o Improved cattle testing (including use of the gamma interferon test) and monitoring of testing
o Stricter movement restrictions including pre and post-movement testing
o Improved husbandry and biosecurity on farms
o Continued research and trials for vaccine development

 In March 2009 the Government announed a scheme to vaccinate badgers against BovineTB, which was welcomed by Essex Wildlife Trust.  This involves a 5 year plan and Essex Wildlife Trust along with the measures above hopes that this will lead some way to a solution.