The issue
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is caused by mycobacterium bovis bacteria and affects a number of animals including cattle and badgers. The disease and efforts to control it have serious economic implications for farmers and government. It is regarded as one of the most difficult animal health problems that the farming industry faces in Great Britain today.
The RSPCA recognises that bovine TB in cattle causes massive hardship for farmers in endemic areas and that there needs to be a sustainable and humane solution.
We base our animal welfare stance on moral and ethical values of care and compassion, but we also rely on sound science to inform our decision-making, formulate our policies, define our strategies, and promote change for the improvement of animal welfare.
On the basis of current science, welfare concerns and a realistic assessment of what is practical, the RSPCA supported the conclusion of the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) that, ‘badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain.’
You can read the RSPCA’s response to the government’s recent consultation here.
To cull or not to cull: balancing the evidence
According to the scientific evidence, in order for badger culling to achieve a reduction in bTB, a cull would have to meet very specific criteria including those below.
• It would have to be over a very large geographical area (more than 150 km² and perhaps as much as 500 km2)
• It would have to be very intensive (virtually wiping out the badger population over the area
• It would need to be repeated over an extended period of time (a number of years)
• It would need to be undertaken in a co-ordinated manner
• Any culling would need to be undertaken simultaneously across the area
• Unless the area had boundaries impermeable to badgers, immigration of badgers will occur.
The Society believes that it is highly unlikely that these criteria can be met.
The way forward
Vaccination has a protective effect in badgers, preventing the animals becoming infected, and it can therefore be expected to reduce the risk of transmission from badgers to cattle. Badger vaccination would avoid the perturbation problems associated with badger culling. It would not cure already infected animals but since the typical lifespan of a badger is 3-5 years, such animals would die off naturally reducing the disease risk to cattle. Although desirable, there is no need to vaccinate all badgers to have an impact on disease transmission.
In 2007 the government decided not to license farmers to cull badgers, but to make vaccination a priority and to increase the spending on vaccines. Over the last 10 years Defra has spent over £7 million on research into badger vaccines and in March 2010 the first TB vaccine – Badger BCG - was authorized by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Its deployment in an injectable form was planned in six areas in England of up to 100 km2 but in June 2010 the government announcing a scaling back of the project to only one area.
An oral badger vaccine would clearly have greater potential for more widespread use but its development is still some years away. However, the RSPCA believes that the development of the injectable vaccine is a significant research achievement and that using it would be an important step in the right direction.
Testing, biosecurity and husbandry
A healthy farming industry is also better equipped to provide good animal welfare. The scientific evidence suggests that increasing the level of cattle testing, improving biosecurity and imposing stricter controls on the movement of cattle are the methods most likely to be effective in combating the spread, and increased incidence, of bTB.
Public opinion
The RSPCA received a number of representations from its members on this issue who made it very clear that they did not support a cull. Along with our consultation response we submitted 17,803 signatures on paper petitions and 15,135 registrations on our online petition. In addition, 4,937 members of the public wrote to their MP opposing a cull.
You can download our briefings and relevant documents below:
RSPCA position on badger culling pilots in England (Janaury 2012)
Badger culling: welfare and practical concerns (one page briefing)
Badgers and bovine TB: Vaccination Q& A (one page briefing)
RSPCA response to Defra consultation (December 2010)
For further information on badger baiting please view our indicator below: