Research on a farmer-led badger vaccination programme has been published in the British Ecological Society journal and has found that vaccinations are technically effective and socially acceptable forms of bovine tuberculosis (TB) control.
The UK government have sponsored the culling of vast numbers of badgers over the last few years in a bid to reduce the prevalence of TB, which has been met with criticism, particularly from animal welfare groups.
In Cornwall, a dozen farmers bandied together to adopt a different approach, teaming up with local conservationists and scientists to roll out a badger vaccination programme within an 11km² area radius over a four-year period.
Badger vaccination programme
Contributing farmers cited ongoing controversy as the primary reason for their participation in the study, which was co-funded by farmers, conservationists and scientists and was designed to examine the efficacy of vaccinations in badger populations against the spread of the disease.
The percentage of badgers testing positive for TB declined from 16% at the start of the vaccination rollout to 0% in the final year of the four-year study, indicating that vaccination of badgers is a highly successful measure to combat the incidence of TB.
Social scientists also interviewed participants as part of the study, and found unanimous support for the initiative.
The study, albeit small in scale, warrants further evaluation of a nation-wide badger vaccination programme to counter the disease, however it does not necessarily demonstrate a causal link between badger vaccinations and TB epidemiology due to the lack of controls used.
The study indicates that a wider rollout of badger vaccination is more plausible if it is led by the farming community in combination with scientific monitoring as opposed to conservationists or the government.
Badger culling has traditionally constituted a large part of the strategy to control the spread of bovine TB which was rampant across Ireland and the UK in the 1990s and early 2000s.
TB is a highly infectious disease of cattle caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium bovis, of which the badger is a common carrier.
Transmission occurs from respiratory secretions from direct contact with infected badgers or indirect contacts via feed or water sources.
Irish TB control
In Ireland, €2 billion has reportedly been spent in the last 20 years to control the spread of the disease in our national herd, according to a report published in the Irish Veterinary Journal.
The report found that total expenditure for the TB control programme has increased from €82 million in 2015 to €97 million in 2020, the majority of which is funded by the exchequer – contributing from 47.5% to 58.6% of total programme costs over this period.
Every positive case found on a farm mandates the culling of the affected animal, as well as the farm’s removal from commercial activity until the herd is free of the disease.
According to the Irish Veterinary Journal, the incidence of TB in the national herd has deteriorated in recent years, amounting to 4.33% in 2021, 4.31% in 2022 and 4.40% last year.
The latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have shown a slight increase in the first half of this year to 4.99% of the national herd.
There has been an increasing emphasis placed on the role of badger vaccinations to control the spread of the disease and DAFM reported in May that 5,046 badgers were caught and vaccinated by that date.
However, culling still remains the most popular control tactic, with an average of 5,500 badgers reportedly culled every year in Ireland.
