The second year of badger culling will begin in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset this autumn, Natural England has announced.
The government agency said the culls will begin to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Operations in these areas where TB is rife will be carried out under the existing licences which allow six weeks of culling to take place every year between 1 June and 31 January. Start dates for culling activity will be decided by the licensed companies.
Under the terms of the authorisation letters, licensees have been set a minimum number of badgers to be removed – these are 615 in Gloucestershire and 316 in Somerset. A maximum number of badgers has also been set (1091 in Gloucestershire, 785 in Somerset) to safeguard the local populations.
NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “Bovine TB continues to devastate farming family businesses across large parts of the country and it is essential that we do everything we can to control and eradicate it. Last year more than 32,000 cattle were slaughtered because of this disease and more than 4,700 additional farming families saw their businesses affected by it.
“In areas where the disease is endemic, like the South West, action must be taken to control it in badgers if we are to stop reinfection occurring and have any chance of wiping it out. This has been acknowledged by the Government and is reflected in its 25-year TB eradication strategy.
“Both cull companies have worked closely with Defra and Natural England to ensure that the recommendations made by the Independent Expert Panel to improve the delivery of operations following last year’s culls have been implemented.
“The Chief Vet has said culling over a four-year period in both pilot areas will have an impact on disease control and we remain confident that these pilots will help to deliver a reduction of TB in cattle. It is vital that they are allowed to be successfully completed so they can deliver the maximum benefits.”
The government had been urged by charities to extend its limited Badger Edge Vaccination Funding Scheme as an alternative to culling.
The Chair of Natural England's Scientific Advisory Committee described the culls as an “epic failure”, and the vast majority of independent scientists agree that a cull can make no meaningful contribution to controlling TB in cattle.
"By contrast, badger vaccination using the injectable BCG vaccine is a viable alternative, and DEFRA is promoting public funding for vaccination projects in the 'edge' area bordering the region worst affected by bovine TB in England," the organisation said.
"However, HSI UK warns that unless the scheme is available in ‘high risk’ bTB areas, and until DEFRA and the NFU actively counter their own anti-vaccination rhetoric, the scheme will have limited impact."
In light of the advice provided by the Independent Expert Panel regarding the significant difficulties in achieving accurate estimates of badger populations, Natural England will keep the minimum number under review and will, if appropriate, provide further advice on the level of culling effort and badger removal required to achieve an effective cull.
Vets from AHVLA will carry out post-mortem examinations on at least 60 randomly-selected badgers from each cull area to assess accuracy of controlled shooting. These measures have been put in place to implement the recommendations made by the Independent Experts Panel following last year’s pilots.
"Overseas experience shows a comprehensive strategy that also includes cattle movement controls and continuing to cull badgers in areas where the disease is rife is likely to be most effective in moving to eradicate TB in England," a Defra spokesman said.
"Ministers have downplayed the value of badger vaccination in recent years, in an attempt to boost support for a cull, and that negative messaging risks undermining the scheme even before it has begun," said Mark Jones, veterinarian and executive director of HSI UK.
"If DEFRA now wants to get buy-in from those same farmers for vaccination of badgers on their land, it needs to seriously change its rhetoric.
“But more than that, it needs to promote badger vaccination in the high-risk areas where it will actually make the greatest difference. Refusing to support vaccination in precisely those areas where bovine TB is most problematic is nonsensical. So farmers in these areas deserve a vaccination scheme or they’re being left high and dry.
"We know that indiscriminate culling of badgers won’t be effective. Last year’s cull was a waste of time, money and badgers’ lives that DEFRA seems sadly determined to repeat this year. Unlike the cull, science tells us that vaccinating even a modest proportion of badgers undoubtedly reduces the potential for TB to spread within badger populations and therefore back to cattle."
“Bovine TB is a problem created by the farming industry,” said Jones.
“So it’s time for farmers to take ownership of effective and humane solutions to their problem, instead of indiscriminately shooting badgers and by doing so potentially making the problem worse. Improving farm biosecurity and restricting cattle movements are crucial, but badger vaccination is also a very useful tool, so we encourage landowners and farmers to get proactively involved and push DEFRA to expand its funding to include high risk areas. All stakeholders – farmers, the tax payer and wildlife groups – have much to gain from a badger vaccination initiative, but it needs to be done intelligently otherwise all those same stakeholders will lose out.”
“It is essential that Defra gets this right to allow the veterinary profession to have confidence that controlled shooting can be carried out humanely and effectively," BVA President Robin Hargreaves said.
"We continue to call upon the Secretary of State to put in place independent analysis of the second year of culling to give confidence to the wider public.
“Badger culling is a necessary part of a comprehensive bovine TB eradication strategy that also includes strict cattle measures and vaccination. Culling remains a hugely emotive issue but we must tackle the disease in both cattle and wildlife. Scientific evidence supports the use of targeted, humane badger culling to achieve a reduction in the disease in cattle.
“I’m proud that the veterinary profession has had such a significant influence on Defra’s position and we will continue to engage with the government to ensure the pilot culls are humane and effective.”
Incidents of Bovine TB in cattle fell in April to their lowest levels in almost ten years, according to the latest statistics from Defra.
The number of new herd incidents during the period January to April 2014 was 1,767 compared to 1,809 for January to April 2013. The number of tests on officially TB free herdswas 31,287 during January to April 2014, compared to 29,526 during January to April 2013.
