All you need to know about... the badger cull

Is the systematic slaughter of this much-loved creature the answer to Britain’s bovine tuberculosis crisis? By Rachael Oakden

Why is it in the news?

A controlled cull seems more likely after the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee suggested in February it could help reduce cases of bovine TB and that the Government’s policy of testing, restricting movement, and the slaughter of infected animals isn’t working. It concluded that licensed culling may benefit TB hotspots. Secretary of State Hilary Benn is now under pressure to make a decision.

 

Why must we control TB?

The UK’s biggest animal health problem is forecast to cost taxpayers £1 billion between now and 2013. Infection rates are rising: 2007 was the worst year yet, with more than 4,000 new outbreaks resulting in the deaths of at least 28,000 cattle. The disease is economically and emotionally devastating for beef and dairy farmers.

 

Why are badgers a problem?

Although TB spreads between cattle, badgers also carry it. In 2007, the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) concluded that cattle-to-cattle transmission is the main cause of disease in new areas, while a Royal Society paper claimed that up to 75 per cent of bovine TB infections are caused by contact with infected badgers. The National Farmers Union and many vets believe that TB can’t be defeated unless there is licensed culling. But the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act makes it illegal to kill badgers or disturb their setts.

 

Would killing badgers help reduce TB in cattle?

While no one disagrees that badgers infect cattle to some degree, there is debate about the effects of culling. In Eire – together with Britain the worst-affected country in Europe – culling has significantly reduced the numbers of cattle testing positive. However, this couldn’t be replicated in the UK due to differences in badger populations, habitat, farming and social attitudes, according to Professor John Bourne, chairman of the ISG, which published the results of an eight-year culling trial last year. Four months later, however, the Government’s then chief scientific advisor, Sir David King, having examined the same data, stated that “removal of badgers could make a significant contribution to the control of cattle TB in those areas of England where there is a high and persistent incidence”.

 

So why not decide to cull?

Public opinion is vehemently pro-badger – nearly 96 per cent of the public are opposed to a cull. The RSPCA argues that infected animals can’t be identified so most cull victims would be healthy; research into road deaths in 2005 found that six out of seven badgers were free of TB.

 

Are there any other culprits?

TB is an airborne disease spread by close contact between animals most likely to affect those with weakened immune systems. So it seems possible that farming practices that move cattle off pasture into crowded sheds to feed on cereals have exacerbated the problem. Researchers at the University of Oxford in 2006 found a correlation between hedgerow loss and higher TB infection rates, suggesting that ecological farming might have a role to play.

 

What about vaccination?

Scientists and farmers believe this is the long-term solution. Lab-based trials of badger vaccines are underway, and it is hoped that a vaccine will be ready to test in the wild within five years. The development of a cattle vaccine is much further off, with trials of a modified version of the human TB vaccine expected to start in three to five years.

 

The Country Living verdict

Farmers do not want to kill or cause suffering to wild animals any more than conservationists do, but with TB infection rates doubling every four-and-a-half years, a solution is desperately needed.

The Government should first pledge to improve testing and cattle movement restrictions as well as commissioning further research into alternative theories about the reasons for the spread of bovine TB. Ultimately, if the Government decides to grant a cull, it must do so on the basis of science, not politics. Otherwise, farmers, cattle and badgers will be worse off than they were before. 

 

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