bTB: Vaccinations and increased testing to replace culls, govt confirms

Environment secretary George Eustice has outlined new plans to eradicate bovine TB by 2038, prompting a backlash from the NFU which says it does not support the new policy as it will “jeopardise ability to control disease”.

The new measures include a five-year badger vaccination programme in East Sussex, which has been awarded £2.27 million to allow farmers to deploy vaccines over a 250 sq. km area. Results will help to inform future government policy on successful badger vaccination.

Licensing of new intensive badger culls, which the government says have effectively helped reduce bTB rates by half in certain areas, will cease after 2022. Existing cull licenses could also be cut short after two years, down from five years, where supported by sufficient scientific evidence, and there will be no option for them to be renewed.

Under the new plans, Defra will also expand its surveillance programme to test cattle for the disease every six months throughout the High Risk Area. Affected herd owners will shortly receive a letter confirming the additional testing will begin from 1st January 2022.

The government is set to develop a monitoring system to track the badger population and disease levels to help tackle the disease, and the findings will be routinely published on gov.uk.

In addition, trials of a bTB cattle vaccination are expected to commence in June. If successful, the vaccine will be on track for deployment by 2025.

Environment secretary George Eustice said: “Bovine TB is one of the most difficult and intractable animal health challenges that the UK faces today, causing considerable trauma for farmers and costing taxpayers over £100 million every year.

“The badger cull has led to a significant reduction in the disease but no one wants to continue the cull of a protected species indefinitely. That is why we are now building on this progress by accelerating other elements of our strategy, including cattle vaccination and improved testing, so that we can eradicate this insidious disease and start to phase out badger culling as soon as possible.”

The announcements follows an eight-week consultation launched in January, which sought the public’s views on a range of proposals.

NFU deputy president Stuart Roberts said: “This decision clearly ignores the government’s own peer-reviewed evidence in the Downs report that showed badger culling in Gloucestershire reduced bTB incidents by 66 per cent. It also ignores its own evidence in its consultation which showed the current strategy, which includes badger controls, delivered reductions in TB incidents in cull areas by 51 per cent after four years.

“This disease continues to have a devastating impact on farming families across the country, causing them huge emotional, mental and financial strain.

“Many farming families have struggled with bTB for a very long time. In recent years, they have started to see some light at the end of a very dark tunnel but today’s announcement will drive a coach and horses through this positive hope.”

Mr Roberts went on to describe the government’s plans to abandon badger culling as “incredibly disappointing and frustrating”.

He concluded: “I want to be very clear – this decision will potentially have far-reaching and severe impacts for cattle farmers across the country.”

Following the consultation, the government has also announced a new bTB Advisory Service, which will offer bespoke advice to livestock keepers about practical and cost-effective measures they can take to build herd resilience.

As part of the Government’s efforts to vaccinate more badgers against the disease a new training scheme called ‘Train the Trainer’, is being launched alongside more accessible and affordable training courses, to encourage more people to become qualified vaccinators.

Defra has also supported CHECs, formerly known as Cattle Health Certification Standards, to deliver the ‘Entry Level Membership’, a new scheme aiming to help farmers reduce the risk of TB breakdowns.