Seems foolish to bring an end to a policy which works, before a replacement strategy is ready. Vaccination is great but seems unrealistic to vaccinate wild animals and cattle vaccination is not yet effective enough or safe. Seems an ideological approach from Labour rather than one based on evidence.
There is a lot of misinformation on both sides but right now the only known way to lower initiation infections of cattle herds is to cull the largest TB reservoir in the wildlife, which are badgers. Deer also carry TB but they can be culled and they don’t roam about in cattle sheds so aren’t considered a major vector in initial infections.
Badgers are great animals but currently they are over protected. The rising populations have other negative impacts such as reducing hedgehog populations and damage to infrastructure if the setts are near homes or roads. I would not like to see them exterminated but a rational approach rather than absolute protection seems more sensible (reduce numbers where TB is a problem, allow relocation where damage to property is caused. Hedgehogs will have to fend for themselves, I guess).
It is a shame that humans have disturbed our natural environment to the extent that we need to control wildlife numbers, but badgers are not unique in this regard.
LuTinct on
For those who can’t read the article. Culls that have already been authorised will be allowed to go ahead. They’ll stop authorising new culls. (that’s why it’s ending in 2029 rather than now)
Thaiaaron on
I think seeing that poor farmer in Jeremy Clarksons Diddly Squat farm saying shes lost 80 or something of her 100 cattle to TB from badger bites and she is unable to do anything about it and the government dont help means she’ll lose her farm thats been in her family for generations.
OinkyDoinky13 on
Leave the badgers alone and bollocks to cattle farmers. Unsustainable, cruel and outdated.
circle1987 on
Hasn’t it been proven that vaccinations are better then culls?
LSL3587 on
It seems the culling will continue for political purposes rather than being cost efficient or scientifically sound.
*The badger culling programme began 11 years ago. By next year it is likely to have cost the lives of 250,000 of the animals, costing the UK taxpayer more than £100m. It remains a controversial weapon in the important battle to keep cows free of a disease that puts them and humans at risk.*
*This year licences have been renewed for four sites – two in Dorset and two in Wiltshire. Two new areas have also been approved in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Across all six sites a total of between 801 and 6,674 badgers can be culled.*
*Peter Hambly, executive director of the Badger’s Trust, said Natural England’s own head of science had asserted this supplementary cull should not go ahead. “Natural England and Defra stated that they are going ahead because they don’t want to upset the farming lobby,” he said.*
The problem with killing badgers in one area is that it encourages badgers from outside the kill zone to come into the empty territory – thus helping spread any diseases. And the recent news /results of vaccination trials –
*Farmer-led badger vaccination work could play a vital role in plans to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB), say researchers.*
***A four-year pilot vaccination programme showed the percentage of badgers testing positive for bTB in the study area dropped from 16% to 0%, said a report by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and Imperial College London.***
***Initiated and part-funded by Cornish farmers,*** *the team vaccinated badgers across 12 farms, while working with Imperial College to gather data to address farmers’ questions around the practicality and effectiveness of vaccination.*
*More badgers were vaccinated per square-kilometre than were caught by nearby culls, said the report, with separate counts from camera traps suggesting that 74% of local badgers received the vaccine.*
*Blood sampling showed that the proportion of badgers with bTB fell, even though overall badger numbers remained high; and interviews with the participating landowners indicated their keenness to continue vaccination beyond the original four years.*
7 Comments
Seems foolish to bring an end to a policy which works, before a replacement strategy is ready. Vaccination is great but seems unrealistic to vaccinate wild animals and cattle vaccination is not yet effective enough or safe. Seems an ideological approach from Labour rather than one based on evidence.
There is a lot of misinformation on both sides but right now the only known way to lower initiation infections of cattle herds is to cull the largest TB reservoir in the wildlife, which are badgers. Deer also carry TB but they can be culled and they don’t roam about in cattle sheds so aren’t considered a major vector in initial infections.
Badgers are great animals but currently they are over protected. The rising populations have other negative impacts such as reducing hedgehog populations and damage to infrastructure if the setts are near homes or roads. I would not like to see them exterminated but a rational approach rather than absolute protection seems more sensible (reduce numbers where TB is a problem, allow relocation where damage to property is caused. Hedgehogs will have to fend for themselves, I guess).
It is a shame that humans have disturbed our natural environment to the extent that we need to control wildlife numbers, but badgers are not unique in this regard.
For those who can’t read the article. Culls that have already been authorised will be allowed to go ahead. They’ll stop authorising new culls. (that’s why it’s ending in 2029 rather than now)
I think seeing that poor farmer in Jeremy Clarksons Diddly Squat farm saying shes lost 80 or something of her 100 cattle to TB from badger bites and she is unable to do anything about it and the government dont help means she’ll lose her farm thats been in her family for generations.
Leave the badgers alone and bollocks to cattle farmers. Unsustainable, cruel and outdated.
Hasn’t it been proven that vaccinations are better then culls?
It seems the culling will continue for political purposes rather than being cost efficient or scientifically sound.
Badger charity mounts legal challenge against culling – [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy847je742do](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy847je742do)
*The badger culling programme began 11 years ago. By next year it is likely to have cost the lives of 250,000 of the animals, costing the UK taxpayer more than £100m. It remains a controversial weapon in the important battle to keep cows free of a disease that puts them and humans at risk.*
*This year licences have been renewed for four sites – two in Dorset and two in Wiltshire. Two new areas have also been approved in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Across all six sites a total of between 801 and 6,674 badgers can be culled.*
*Peter Hambly, executive director of the Badger’s Trust, said Natural England’s own head of science had asserted this supplementary cull should not go ahead. “Natural England and Defra stated that they are going ahead because they don’t want to upset the farming lobby,” he said.*
*In coming to its decision on licences, Natural England did* [outline to the government that there is “sound evidence”, external](https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/post/why-did-natural-england-order-a-badger-cull-against-its-own-scientific-advice) *that badger vaccination can be used as an alternative to culling,*
The problem with killing badgers in one area is that it encourages badgers from outside the kill zone to come into the empty territory – thus helping spread any diseases. And the recent news /results of vaccination trials –
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80ee5xkrpno](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80ee5xkrpno)
*Farmer-led badger vaccination work could play a vital role in plans to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB), say researchers.*
***A four-year pilot vaccination programme showed the percentage of badgers testing positive for bTB in the study area dropped from 16% to 0%, said a report by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and Imperial College London.***
***Initiated and part-funded by Cornish farmers,*** *the team vaccinated badgers across 12 farms, while working with Imperial College to gather data to address farmers’ questions around the practicality and effectiveness of vaccination.*
*More badgers were vaccinated per square-kilometre than were caught by nearby culls, said the report, with separate counts from camera traps suggesting that 74% of local badgers received the vaccine.*
*Blood sampling showed that the proportion of badgers with bTB fell, even though overall badger numbers remained high; and interviews with the participating landowners indicated their keenness to continue vaccination beyond the original four years.*
[https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/projects/badger-vaccination](https://www.zsl.org/what-we-do/projects/badger-vaccination)
[https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/post/why-did-natural-england-order-a-badger-cull-against-its-own-scientific-advice](https://www.badgertrust.org.uk/post/why-did-natural-england-order-a-badger-cull-against-its-own-scientific-advice)
I’ve always wondered, are cattle not vaccinated against TB, or would such a seemingly obvious solution, not be a good idea?