This week I had the privilege of opening the e-petition debate titled “End the badger cull and adopt other approaches to bovine TB control”, created by Robert Pownall, founder of the group “Protect the Wild”. The petition gathered over 102,000 signatures, showing the strength of feeling from the public on this issue.
Over the past decade 278,000 cattle infected with bovine tuberculosis have been compulsorily slaughtered, while over 230,000 have been culled in an attempt to end the disease. Yet, more cattle were slaughtered in 2021, than 2013 when the most recent cull began. So how effective can this cull really be, especially when countries like Scotland have been “Officially Tuberculosis Free” since 2009, and have not used the badger cull since 2012?
When discussing the end of the badger cull in Scotland, the Scottish Wildlife Trust referenced the conclusion of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial from 1998 to 2005, which concluded “badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle tuberculosis control in Britain.” Alongside this they also found that badger culling can even increase the spread of bovine tuberculosis from badger to cattle, as the badgers which survive roam outside their usual area and spread bovine tuberculosis further (also known as the perturbation effect).
Wales has also stopped badger culling and now focuses on cattle-focused strategies. A study from Vet Record Analysis found that from 2009 to 2020 Wales had similar reductions in herd bovine tuberculosis to England, despite Wales not employing widespread badger culling, and suggesting that bovine tuberculosis can be controlled through cattle measures alone. This is not surprising, given that 17 countries in the EU are designated bovine tuberculosis free, yet only England, Wales, and France license badger culling.
The Badger Trust found that 94% of bovine tuberculosis cases are spread from cow to cow. However, a survey carried out by the Badger Trust found that when it came to farm biosecurity . Many believe that robust biosecurity is key to tackling this issue alongside effective vaccines.
Additionally, the updated review on tacking bovine tuberculosis, by Sir Charles Godfray, found “As a decision has been made to phase out culling it is of great importance to develop effective non-lethal interventions to enable eradication, such as vaccination of badgers or reducing contact between badgers and cattle.” It went on to say “An unfortunate consequence of the controversy around badger culling and the politicisation of the debate has been a deflection of focus from what can be done by the individual farmer and by the livestock industry to help control the disease. In particular, the poor take up of on-farm biosecurity measures and the extent of trading in often high-risk cattle is severely hampering disease control measures.”
Bovine tuberculosis has a massive cost to farmers and to the government. In 2024 nearly £23 million was paid in compensation for slaughtered cattle, while the median cost of tuberculosis on herds for over 300 cattle in England and Wales is around £18,600.
The government have announced a new strategy is being developed to achieve “Officially Bovine Tuberculosis Free” status for England by 2038. While this has included honouring existing cull processes, the government have committed to ending the badger cull, as outlined the Labour manifesto. This government is also planning to work on the development of an effective cattle vaccine and continue the field trials of the CattleBCG vaccine and companion test which have ongoing since 2021.
Additionally, the government also plan to establish a new Badger Vaccinator Field Force to rollout badger vaccines, as well as a badger vaccination study to assess the effectiveness.
It is clear that the badger cull is not working and is a cruel and brutal way to attempt to tackle bovine tuberculosis. I look forward to this new strategy, with a focus on cattle testing and vaccination, which can finally effectively bring down England’s bovine tuberculosis rates.
The badger cull is not working and is a cruel and brutal way to attempt to tackle bovine tuberculosis
