The Wildlife Trusts call for more investment in badger vaccination
The government has released figures on the numbers of badgers vaccinated last year, in 2018. Their figures show that 641 were vaccinated – with half of these through the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS), the government-sponsored badger vaccination programme.
There is robust scientific evidence to prove that badger vaccination reduces the transmission of bTB in badgers [1]. Several studies demonstrate that vaccinating badgers reduces the progression, severity and the likelihood that the infection would be passed on, once a badger is infected [2,3,4].
Whilst the data released today indicates progress of sorts, when compared to the numbers of badgers culled in 2018 – at least 32,602 – it represents a very small proportion. Vaccination has the potential to reduce bTB infection prevalence in the badger population [5], and hence bTB risks to cattle, without the harmful effects associated with culling such as increased prevalence of TB in badgers plus spreading the disease [6,7].
Much more needs to be done – and The Wildlife Trusts have demonstrated that badger vaccination is do-able. Twelve Wildlife Trusts across England and Wales conducted badger vaccination programmes between 2011-2015*. In this time, we vaccinated more than 1500 badgers. The largest programme is run by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust who also hosted training for lay vaccinators carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) in 2018.
We call on the government to invest more resources to support farmers and land managers to have the choice to vaccinate badgers instead of culling. Government must act on the findings of the Godfray Review which highlights the potential for a large-scale badger vaccination programme as an alternative to culling and roll out a widespread badger vaccination programme.
The Wildlife Trusts have opposed the badger cull since it first started and no Wildlife Trust will allow badger culling on its land. For more information go to www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-and-wild-places/saving-species/badgers
27 March 2019
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