Ed Barker: Badger cull is vital to cut toll of bovine TB

Wildlife controls are never pleasant but this summer’s trial is an essential part of the battle to eradicate bovine TB in England.

TB prevalence, infection and spread among cattle, wildlife and other livestock cannot be overstated.

The number of cattle that have been slaughtered as a result of bovine TB has jumped from around 2,000 a year in 1992 to more than 38,000 in 2011.

The British taxpayer has spent around £500m controlling TB in England over the past decade.

Since 2008, 186,664 cattle have been killed as a result of TB infection.

In 2012-2013 alone, Defra will spend more than £94m on compensation for cattle owners, TB testing procedures and administrative costs to veterinarians.

In 2011, 11.5 per cent of cattle herds in England were under cattle movement restrictions. In the South West of England, where the cull is being concentrated, this figure was 23.6 per cent.

Each outbreak of TB in a herd costs farmers thousands of pounds, and for those farmers who are continually under movement restrictions as a result of continued TB infection in their herds, economic viability is threatened. It is also important to remember the emotional toll this process has on farmers.

In trying to prevent the spread of TB in England, farmers have already endured a number of measures relating to pre-movement testing, stocking restrictions, and compensation rates that frequently fail to reflect the full value of an animal. Three separate packages of added TB restrictions and rules have been introduced in the past year alone.

The CLA believes that the continuation of movement restrictions placed on farmers is unsustainable with the disease rife among wildlife populations.

We are relieved the Government is at last willing to run trials to measure the efficacy of wildlife controls in those areas most seriously affected by bovine TB.

It is important to bear in mind that TB does not only affect livestock owners. Many businesses, such as cattle traders, feed producers, abattoirs, retailers, processors, livestock markets and shops, are all dependent on a healthy cattle population.

Controlling TB as quickly as possible is vital to ensure the viability of thousands of farms and businesses in England.

A combination of approaches is needed to tackle the disease, but badger control is vital. We are reassured to note that the methods of badger control proposed appear to be supported by the scientific community as being the most humane.

Countries that have successfully eradicated or controlled bovine TB have used methods to control wildlife and infected cattle. Simply increasing the controls on cattle movements, which are currently much tighter than they ever have been, has done little to curtail the spread of the disease.

Experience from Ireland and New Zealand has shown that bovine TB control and eradication is possible.

Both governments engaged with their farming communities, employing a comprehensive strategy to control the disease. Their strategies included compensation packages, testing procedures, movement restrictions and, crucially, wildlife controls.

The CLA continues to support continued research into vaccination of both badgers and cattle. Farmers already vaccinate their animals against a variety of other diseases and when there is an effective, licensed vaccine available for bovine TB we have no doubt that farmers will be enthusiastic about using it as the primary method of controlling TB.

However, we recognise it is likely to be some time before we have a vaccine that farmers can use in the field, not least because the European Commission has stated that the use of a cattle vaccine is prohibited under EU law. It is evident that this option cannot be realistically pursued in the short term.