NFU and Badger Trust join forces on TB

The NFU and the Badger Trust have joined forces on a project to vaccinate badgers against bovine tuberculosis.

NFU chief farm policy adviser John Royle and a Badger Trust Director Simon Boulter have agreed a joint project in which badgers on two farms owned by NFU members will be vaccinated.

In addition, the Badger Trust has identified five other landowners from around the UK wishing to vaccinate badgers and is working independently with them as part of the initial trial project.

Vaccination on all seven farms started in October after surveys were carried out to identify active badger setts and licences have been granted by Natural England. The vaccination project will run until the end of November 2011 and resume in May 2012.

It is hoped that the two programmes, although small in scale, will help to identify whether the injectable vaccination of badgers is practical and cost-effective.

The NFU and the Badger Trust said they would continue to encourage research and development into an orally-delivered badger vaccine.

Mr Royle said: “We are pleased that the NFU and the Badger Trust have successfully liaised to facilitate this joint project, sharing equipment and resources as necessary, despite having differing views on the degree to which badgers are implicated in the transmission of bovine tuberculosis.”

Mr Boulter added: “We hope that with the use of volunteers to help with the work of surveying, trap-setting and pre-baiting, we can successfully implement an effective badger vaccination programme.”

Meanwhile, a decision over whether to allow a pilot badger cull in England is expected to be announced by DEFRA before Christmas.

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