Wales to vaccinate badgers
The Welsh Government has announced that it will be pursuing a five-year programme of vaccinating badgers in the Intensive Action Area in an attempt to control the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) amongst Welsh cattle instead of going ahead with a cull planned under the previous government. The announcement was made by Environment Minister John Griffiths to a plenary meeting of AMs on Tuesday 20th March 2012.
The decision has drawn criticism from veterinary organisations including the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA), who have questioned the scientific merit of the decision.
Commenting, BVA President Carl Padgett said “This is clearly a political decision, rather than a scientific one, and it will potentially set back our efforts to tackle this devastating disease by many years. The Science Review states that no scientific evidence exists to assess whether vaccinating badgers will reduce the incidence of TB in cattle. Vaccinating infected badgers has no effect and we know that there is a high level of infection in the badger population... We are deeply disappointed that the Minister has failed to listen to the advice of those most affected by bovine TB – the veterinary surgeons and farmers dealing with the disease every day. Meanwhile, cattle will continue to be culled as we wait for what may, or may not, be the benefits of badger vaccination.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
