Bovine TB

Last week I spoke in Parliament in support of the Government trials in which badgers are culled to reduce TB in cattle.

Bovine TB is a scourge, causing the destruction of 28,000 cattle last year. It also causes extraordinary distress to our farmers. Extensive culling trials were carried out under the last government and opponents point out that these demonstrated that under the trial conditions the incidence of bovine TB can be exacerbated by the cull disrupting badger groups which disperse the disease.

It is important to understand though that further research has strongly suggested that if certain actions are taken (such as ensuring that the culls are over a wide area, sustained and bounded by barriers like the sea, motorways and rivers) then progress towards disease reduction in this manner is likely, especially where it is part of a series of approaches, including stringent biosecurity measures.

There are also the arguments about vaccinations. Some say that if only the government would vaccinate badgers or cattle or both then in one bound we would be free. The problem is that there is no oral vaccine for badgers (the only practical type) and no fully reliable vaccine for cattle (or even a test that allows a reliable differentiation between vaccinated cattle and those with the disease).

So my view is that we must press on with the trials. We must monitor results carefully and if it is shown that this approach is effective we must press on further and with vigour.

There is not a country on earth that has successfully eradicated Bovine TB without tackling it within the wider wildlife population.

For the sake of taxpayers, farmers and our rural communities we cannot now turn our backs on an approach that may be absolutely key to a solution.