It's continued to attract media attention and has become rather a controversial topic at the moment. Badger culling to prevent the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis was the proposed action plan in Gloucestershire in the hope of potentially reducing the number of bTB cases by up to 16% DEFRA quoted. Bovine Tuberculosis costs the taxpayer £100 million per year and last year caused the slaughter of 26,000 infected cattle placing strain on farmers whose herds are affected.
However in the past week the government has postponed the proposed cull until 2013 as in order for the cull to be effective it was found in a randomised trial known as the Krebs trial, 70% of the badger population in the area would have to be eradicated, however farmers felt that this number could not be achieved before the winter months set in and the badgers returned underground.
To campaigners, this news was of great relief as it gives them more time to gain more support against the cull with an e-petition already gathering over 150,000 signatures. Many feel that a vaccination programme for both cattle and badgers is the way forward, however this is currently banned by the EU as it interrupts the tuberculin skin test which detects Tb cases in cattle. Recently it has been announced that scientists working for the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency have found a way of making the vaccine distinguishable from the response of the skin test meaning that vaccination may become a slightly more viable method of dealing with bTB. But like any other testing process, it still has to be trialled in order to prove it does work in the way it should and validated by regulating bodies meaning that it may come too late for this particular case.
So let's look at the arguments for and against badger culling as a method for dealing with bTB.
For
Evidence from the Krebs trial, a £50 million study suggested that if the condition of 70% of a badger population in an area could be met that cases of bTB could be reduced by approximately 16% after nine years.
Vaccination of both badgers and cattle proposed by the other side are costly, time consuming and rely on being able to trap a large proportion of the badger population which may prove difficult in practice. Vaccination is a preventative and will not cure the badgers already carrying TB.
A reduction in bTB cases if achieved through the cull will also see a reduction in the amount of taxpayers money compensating farmers whose herds have to be destroyed because of bTB.
Farmers are willing to pay for the cull themselves without the use of taxpayers money to hold the cull.
Against
There is also evidence to suggest culling could increase bTB cases in the area as badgers surviving the cull would move to form new family groups spreading the disease, this could lead to more cases outside of the cull zone although the impact will decrease over time.
The method planned for culling badgers by free shooting was not used in the initial randomised trial, instead badgers were trapped and then killed, therefore the results produced by the cull could be less or more than expected as the cull may not be carried out with the same vigor.
Badger and cattle vaccination is supported by many animal charities and has shown positive results in badgers where it has been used by conservation authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Biosecurity improvements are also another favoured method as bTB is believed to be transferred from badgers to cattle through faeces and urine. It is estimated that to farmers the cost of improving biosecurity to prevent badgers from coming into contact with cattle is roughly £4000, when considering the cost of a case of TB leading to the destruction of a herd which can cost £27,000 this measure appears more cost-effective.
Many fear that badger culling has become overidden by political opinion and emotion rather than the scientific evidence already presented.
Image of badger :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9615773/Badger-cull-will-cost-taxpayers-millions.html
Image of cattle: http://www.topnews.in/usa/cattle-descended-small-herd-domesticated-around-10500-years-ago-216597
Other sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2214442/British-vaccine-breakthrough-save-cows-TB-end-controversial-badger-culls.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01nbrj7/Material_World_18_10_2012/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19637936
