badger © Darin Smith

Update: 13 March 2006

Time runs out for the badger …


A widespread cull of badgers is being considered by the Government in an attempt to curb the spread of bovine TB despite evidence that this will not work and is likely to make the situation worse.

The Government consultation closed on March 10 and it is very likely that Ministers will disregard years of scientific research into the spread of bovine tuberculosis and cull huge numbers of badgers. Avon Wildlife Trust urged members to stand up for the protected species by writing letters of protest and contacting their MPs before the March 10 deadline.

Steve Grainger, Chief Executive of Avon Wildlife Trust, says:


"Bovine TB is a big problem but a mass eradication of one of our most protected native animals is not the answer. A cull would be bad for badgers and bad for agriculture.

"Scientists have spent the past seven years investigating whether or not killing badgers will stop this serious disease in cattle. The answer they're getting is that it could actually make the problem worse.

"The Government's own research is telling them that cattle-to-cattle transmission is the biggest reason for the spread of bovine tuberculosis and that, by disrupting badgers, a cull would very likely cause uncharacteristic movement in badger populations which is likely to make the bovine TB problem worse.

"Avon Wildlife Trust has a great deal of sympathy for farmers whose stock is affected by bovine TB. We work closely with farmers and are keen to stress that a healthy dairy sector is important in protecting our wildlife. However, it does no one any good if we fly in the face of science and make a scapegoat of badgers."

 

14 February 2006

The Wildlife Trusts' position statement


Badgers and bovine TB

BRIEFING FOR WILDLIFE TRUSTS IN ALL PARTS OF THE UK

Background
Defra has announced new control measures (14/15 December 2006) to address the problem of bovine TB (bTB). These comprise

  • A public consultation on the principle and method of a badger culling policy in areas of high TB incidence in cattle

  • The introduction of a requirement for pre-movement testing to reduce the spread of bovine TB through movement of cattle. This requirement will only apply to cattle over 15 months

  • The introduction of a new compensation scheme to bring into line payments for bovine TB and three other cattle diseases

To coincide with the announcement, two new scientific papers have been published, one in Nature i describing the results of the preliminary analysis of pro- active culling from the Randomised Badger Culling Trials (RBCT), and the other in the Journal of Applied Ecology ii describing how social groups of badgers are de-stabilised by culling.

The Wildlife Trusts' position statement
The Wildlife Trusts will only support the killing of wild animals where this is a ‘last resort' measure and our own guidelines are followed. These are set out in The Wildlife Trusts' guidelines on Killing Wild Animals, 1998 iii.

Bovine TB:

  • The Wildlife Trusts accept that TB in cattle is a significant problem for farming in the UK and that urgent action is required to combat the disease. We particularly recognise the important role that the livestock industry can play in the environmentally sensitive management of the countryside, and the serious disruption and anxiety caused to farmers experiencing a TB herd breakdown.

  • The Wildlife Trusts welcome the Government taking action to address bTB and believe that this should be based on clear scientific evidence and well reasoned arguments. We believe that our response to the disease should follow the co-ordinated approach set out in the Government's Strategic Framework for the sustainable control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Great Britain iv.

Bovine TB control in cattle

  • The Wildlife Trusts believe that cattle-to-cattle transmission is the most significant route of infection for bTB and that Government action should focus on addressing this as a matter of urgency.

  • The Wildlife Trusts believe that priority action to reduce the incidence of the disease should therefore involve improvements in cattle testing (including use of the gamma interferon test) and stricter movement restrictions (including pre and post-movement testing). We believe that testing should apply immediately to movements of all animals over six weeks old.

  • The Wildlife Trusts also believe that anything farmers can do to improve herd health, lower stocking densities if they are too high, and improve biosecurity on the farm should be encouraged.

  • The Wildlife Trusts believe that to tackle the disease in the long term more investment is needed to develop an effective vaccine for cattle, to be used alongside the above measures.

Badgers and bovine TB:

  • The Wildlife Trusts accept that bTB is in the badger population, and that badgers along with other native mammals may act as a reservoir for the disease and a source of bTB infection in cattle.

  • The Wildlife Trusts believe that there is currently no scientific evidence to support the view that badgers are the main source of transmission of bTB to cattle (the main source being cattle-to-cattle) or that localised culling of badgers is an effective way of preventing the transmission of bTB from a wildlife reservoir to cattle.

  • The Wildlife Trusts believe that the current Defra proposals for badger culling are not supported by science. We believe they are impractical, publicly unacceptable, unsustainable and are not cost effective:

    • We support the scientific findings of the RBCT that localised or limited culling of badgers leads to an increase in the incidence of bTB v in surrounding areas.

    • We also support the recent scientific findings that suggest that badger culling over large enough areas to be theoretically effective (ie over 300 km2) will not only be impractical but will still result in potential negative edge effects through perturbation. This will be exacerbated because of the difficulty of removing all badgers as a result of non- compliance of landowners, badgers' ability to avoid traps and snares, and the potential use of a closed season when females are lactating. Because there is no scientific case to support the Defra proposals for badger culling, The Wildlife Trusts will not currently support badger culling on our reserves.

    • We believe that culling of badgers over large areas represents localised eradication of the species and would require the use of snares. We believe that localised eradication of badgers is publicly unacceptable on moral and conservation grounds and could be in contravention of the Bern Convention.

    • We believe the current Defra proposals do not include measures to assess the effectiveness of badger culling alongside the impact of pre-movement testing of cattle, or clarify how a localised eradication programme would operate in the long term. The proposals therefore do not allow for an exit strategy on badger culling and are unsustainable.

    • Furthermore, we believe that even if such a culling strategy were practical, publicly acceptable, or sustainable it would not be cost effective.

  • The Wildlife Trusts believe that because there is currently no clear scientific justification for badger culling, the Government's main control strategy should be focussed on cattle-to-cattle transmission. At the same time as controlling the spread of the disease between cattle, a secondary strategy to reduce potential re-infection from wildlife populations should be progressed. This strategy should focus on strengthening current research into the nature of the disease in badgers in order to achieve a healthy and stable badger population and specifically looking at demographic trends behind the perturbation effect and the development of an effective vaccine for badgers.

  • The Wildlife Trusts will review our position on control of badgers to reduce the incidence of bTB in the light of any new scientific evidence.

 
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