A farmer-led study based in Cornwall has found that badger vaccination for bovine tuberculosis (TB) is “practically achievable”.
The report was based on a four-year badger vaccination initiative in an 11km2 area, which was initiated by local farmers, delivered by scientists and conservationists, and co-funded by all three parties.
Over four years, researchers vaccinated 265 badgers across 12 farms, and wildlife scientists took blood samples from many of the vaccinated badgers.
The percentage of badgers testing positive for Mycobacterium bovis declined from 16% at the start of vaccination to 0% in the final year.
The results of the study showed that the numbers of badgers vaccinated per km2 each year were higher than the numbers culled on nearby land.
Vaccination was conducted for only two nights per location while culling operations extended over at least six weeks.
The project by itself is too small-scale to judge the contribution that badger vaccination might make to TB control in the UK or Ireland, but it does show that the approach should be evaluated at larger scales.
TB study reaction
Farmers in the area reported that their enthusiasm for badger vaccination had increased after participation.
They considered vaccination to have been “effective, and good value for money”, and wished to continue with it, according farmer responses to a questionnaire following the study.
Prof. of Zoonotic and Emerging Disease at University of Nottingham, Malcolm Bennett said that it is now time for “further, bigger trials”.
“This is an important study, that fits with other evidence of the efficacy of badger vaccination and, importantly, shows that vaccination of badgers is practicable and acceptable in areas where bovine TB is endemic,” Prof. Bennett said.
The study stated that a wider rollout of badger vaccination is more likely if it is led by the farming community, rather than by conservationists or government, and is combined with scientific monitoring.
