Farmers will be asked to help catch and inject badgers as DEFRA steps up its fight against bovine tuberculosis.

DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn told Farmers Weekly that the success of a government project to test an injectable vaccine rested with farmers.

Mr Benn announced that six areas of up to 100sq km would be chosen for the project. All of the areas will be sited within known TB hotspots.

Vaccination is expected to start in summer 2010 once the vaccine itself is licenced. But training of farmers, vets, contractors and wildlife experts, to handle and inject the badgers will begin this year.

How many recruits will be needed and a cost for the five-year project have not yet been worked out, Mr Benn said.

"Developing an effective vaccine for bovine TB is only half the challenge," he added.

The project will focus on ease of use in the field, securing local engagement in the vaccination campaign, developing practical know-how and creation of a skills base. The impact on herd breakdowns will also be monitored, however, Mr Benn said.

"It will be hard work but we are doing something to tackle the disease and giving hope to those who live with this disease."

Mr Benn acknowledged his comments at the NFU conference in 2009 that an injectable vaccine was impractical for widespread use.

"On a wide scale, yes, I stand by that. But the demonstration project is a vital step in the development of an oral vaccine which will be suited for large-scale treatment."

 

There's more on this story here:

 

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/03/19/114799/defra-unveils-tb-badger-vaccine-plan.html

 

 

Three points:

1. I will willingly join Mr Benn on every occasion when he personally catches and injects a wild badger. I look forward to many hours working with the man

2. I would however suggest to him that the task be given to, and funded by, the badger trust and like minded people

3. Mr Benn reminds me of a Managing Director I once worked with. He was incapable of making a decision until all conceivable options had been shown to be unworkble. If there was a workable option left, he would accept that and call it a decision. However, because working through ALL conceivable options was time consuming and expensive, decisions were rarely made and so the company went bust. (I had left long before that) Mr Benn seems to have to have the same inability to make decisions. This means that he needs to 'prove' that this latest option will be too expensive, before he is eventually forced to acknowledge that a selective cull is the answer.

 

 

 

Am I missing something here?   Presumably the vaccine has been tested and shown to be safe and effective, so why not vaccinate cattle and leave the badgers until an oral version is avaiable?

Cattle vaccine won't be available until 2015.

These badgers they're going to inject. Will they be dead? For that is the only condition under which i would approach a 30lb bad tempered weasel in a trap or otherwise to inject it. They're nutters!

I too look forward to Mr Benn taking one of these cute creatures in his arms and carefully administering the injectable vaccine to said animal. I'll be right behind him. Appoximately 1km behind him that is.

Isabel,

       Can you find out what type of Vaccine it is that they intend to use.Benns Press release seemed to avoid that one.

labour in vain:

Will they be dead? For that is the only condition under which i would approach a 30lb bad tempered weasel in a trap or otherwise to inject it.

 

 

Precisely my thoughts when I first heard about this "plan". Badgers are fierce, carnivorous creatures with a lot of teeth. Sadly, the Great British Public seems to think they're cute and cuddly, despite even Kenneth Wind in the Willows Graham portraying "Mr Badger" as a rather dodgy and mysterious character.

Jon Riley on the news desk is going to ask for you. Not sure how much he'll get it hasn't been licensed yet so they are probably going to be very vague. Any particular reason you ask?

Hi Burocrat Basher,

I've got some info for you on what type of vaccine it is. It is the BCG vaccine. It is attenuated which means it is the live pathogen but in a weakened form to produce an immune response without causing the severe effects of the disease.

 I hope that helps,

Jon Riley
News Editor

 

jon riley:

I've got some info for you on what type of vaccine it is. It is the BCG vaccine

Interesting.  Some 30 years ago as a teenager I was a recipient of the BCG vaccine; to date it appears to have worked.  Why has it taken this long to decide that the same vaccine would be suitable to treat Mr Brock?  Is this just a random shot in the dark to satisfy Mr Benn's friends in the Badgers Trust and RSPCA or is there some credible science behind it?

 

 

Why farmers?? Surely its not up to farmers. I can see that it causes farmers probably the most problems, but saying that when they get into my release pens and clear all the birds out, its just as drastic!

I wonder though, how are they supposed to be caught and injected??? With a net!?

I would have thought it would have been up to animal protection groups to catch and inject as ;

A/ Farmers certainly dont have the time

B/ Some small farms may not have the resources (especially labour).

 

I agreee that badger groups and the animal protection lot should give it a go. I expect all their opinions are formed from the sick and injured badgers bought in by Joe Public, too pathetic to fight back. I'll be cheering them on from inside the house!

It's not just that the little blighters are nasty, what about the smell they give off when they are angry? If you think I'm getting that all over me......Eau de Mad Badger is not something that goes down well in Tescos!

We have a fox cage trap that to date has not trapped any foxes, it has however caught three badgers the last one of which peeled back the albeit rusty, 2mm metal floor like a ring pull can.

Someone else can man the hypodermic.

townie:

Interesting.  Some 30 years ago as a teenager I was a recipient of the BCG vaccine; to date it appears to have worked.  Why has it taken this long to decide that the same vaccine would be suitable to treat Mr Brock?  Is this just a random shot in the dark to satisfy Mr Benn's friends in the Badgers Trust and RSPCA or is there some credible science behind it?

Yeah, the same happened to me 45 years ago.  I don't know when it started or finished but all school kids were given a skin test at about 13 years old.  Reactors weren't shot, they were sent for chest x-rays and treated if infected.  All the others got the BCG vaccine.  Of course we don't do it anymore because the vaccination programme was so successful it eradicated the disease.

Now call me a cynic if you like, but an effective BTB vaccine if backed up with an oral vaccine for badgers could do the same - so long term, what's in it for the vaccine manufacturer?

I suggest DEFRA test the MODs new battlefield robot on the badger, if it can survive that it can survive anything. See http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4278604.html

Jon,

      Thankyou for that info. A friend of mine used to work at Defra and has told me of this Vaccine.BCG Vaccine has been around for getting on one hundred years. It was developed by two French Researchers but has always had rather unusual results depending on where it is used Geographicaly. In the thirties it was used in Germany and the Kids died of BCG Vaccination.After WW2 it was used in the the UK to try to contain TB but the Americans would not use it because they tried it prior to the War and only a small proportion of the vaccinated were immune. The Incidence of TB in the UK as well as the US dropped at the same rate after WW2  with one Vaccinating and one not.The Americans choosing to use the Skin Test and Anti Biotics to treat the Disease and the Brits Vaccination  and Lung X- Rays plus Anti Biotics. A program of Immunisation in India in the Late sixties was a complete disaster with the incidence of the Disease actually increasing.BCG has been found to be beneficial against Leoprsey and other Diseases and will protect some against the TB Bacterrium but it is only able to protect in about seventy percent of cases.This can also be a misinformation because that is an average and in some cases only ten percent and less are protected and others ninety percent.

 Attenuated Vaccine has been around for years,what is new is inserting Genes with different charachteristics to improve the Vaccine and if this is the case it could be that the Vaccine is better but remember there are about thirty different strains of this Bacteria.

 I would like to see Benn  asked these sort of Questions in Public so that the World can either see his Wisdom or absolute incompetence.I would put my money on the former,but lets give all a go.

You are entirely missing the point.

The 'demonstration project' is expected to start in Summer 2010. This just means that in the run up to the General Election the Government can say that they are actively tackling the TB issue in both cattle and badgers without resorting to a badger cull which will not be popular with the voters. By the time the trial results are known it will either be the problem of another colour of Government, or the election will be long gone and the pressure for action removed.

There is a press release this week from Natural England over their successful prosection of a dog owner in Cornwall for 'recklessly disturbing birds' (who'd have thought this an offence). Heavens knows what they'll make of farmers chasing badgers!

moore2:

The 'demonstration project' is expected to start in Summer 2010. This just means that in the run up to the General Election the Government can say that they are actively tackling the TB issue in both cattle and badgers without resorting to a badger cull which will not be popular with the voters.

moore2 you have cheered me up! Here was I thinking that I was becoming the worst cynic on the Forum and that I must stop doubting the motives of our ruling elite, and you come along with a 'fact' that I had missed. You are of course, correct! Defra's announcement will ensure the requisite political donations from Peta, RSPCA. Badger Trust and the rest of  the heavenly host whose jobs depend on persuading the public that there are bad people out there, but that a donation to us can help to right the wrongs.

Where are we to trap the badgers? Surely not in the fields? That would be pointless as the badger trust say that there is no link between cattle and badgers while at pasture. However, we are to blame for TB because we foolishly allow the badgers to enter our yards. Why not? They don't have TB! Or do they? Is the badger population responsible for the spread of TB in cattle? Surely not! I have a friend who is willing to help; his name is Mr Eley No. 7.

Why aren't the public, who are soft on 'cuddly' badgers, shown the enormous pile of dead but healthy calves shot on a daily basis because of movement restrictions? They might start seeing things from our point of view. NB I have no farming connections whatsoever, except for my husband.

 

Two thingsFirstWhat is the point in vaccinating Badgers in TB hotspots when most of the badgers have already got TB.This would be a waste of farmer’s time, taxpayer’s money & risk a breakdown in the vaccine.SecondWhat farmer wants to be on a DEFRA list (available to any extremist animal rights group) of people trapping & causing pain & suffering to Badgers.

Yours, Devon Dairy Farmer

townie:

.  All the others got the BCG vaccine.  Of course we don't do it anymore because the vaccination programme was so successful it eradicated the disease.

 

you seem to have some if your facts wrong.... every child is still given the BCG jab- i myself have a lovely little scar on my arm, so do my siblings. one of the main things that we are told is not to rub/scratch it while it heals, if it bursts we will have a very nasy infection.

 now point 1- can you explain that to the badgers, not to rub or they will have an abcess that swells, pops and is very painful?? of course not. so now you are creating another welfare problem.

 point 2- while all the cute little badger cubs are at school, are you going to line them up and jab them as we were? of course not. so you are left with the fact that you cant jab the youngsters, but have to wait until they are older, im imagining that the required age will be after the time they leave the sett. so then you have the problem of a) unjabbed badgers wandering the countryside and b) trying to find the sods again, which leads to problem 3- how are you going to tell which ones are jabbed or not? tag them?? we all know how disasterous that is with cattle loosing them- and they dont live underground! microchipping is hugely expensive, not to mention the fact that its totally impractical to have every badger in the uk somehow identifiable- they cant even do that with bloody illegal immigrants!

it is an acknowleged FACT that badgers suffer from TB. as i said in an earlier topic (why do farmers have to kill bugs, squirrels, spiders & foxes or someother rubbish like that), the badger, like the fox has no predators, therefore it is my way of thinking that humans should step in to stop unneccessary suffering. a badger slowly dying of TB is most definately suffering in my book. that said, a shotgun to my mind is far more humane than a bunch of eco-friendly, green idiots, run around a field with a net and brand-shiny new waterproofs watching every animal in the whole vincinity gallop/fly/scurry or run as fast as they can in the opposite direction whilst everyone else is sat on the fence laughing their socks off at them.

 

they say that there is a huge problem with the youth of today (presumably myself included even though iv never smoked one cigarette) having an addiction to cannabis. the way i see it is that Hillary Benn and his cronies surely have been smoking something to addle their brains as they pass the time of day in their plush offices thinking up absolutely rediculous notions......

let the badger trust do the jabbing- they are after all convinced all us farmers do is cause unnecessary suffering to the beggars!

 

sorry, quote should have been jacobus not townie.

no one will be vaccinating badgers on this farm. i am not prepared to take the risk of litigation when fingers are lost during trapping and vacination

"every child is still given the BCG jab"

Currently they are not, it stopped about 3 years ago. I've never had one and neither has my sister (15 & 17).

boveyfarmer:

i am not prepared to take the risk of litigation when fingers are lost during trapping and vacination

You have a good point. Will Hilary B  be arranging the necessary insurance get outs I wonder?

Peter Wells:

You have a good point. Will Hilary B  be arranging the necessary insurance get outs I wonder?

 

Hilary Benn, the first invertibrate human to become a government minister