We have been keenly watching the progress and outcomes of Defra’s pilot in East Sussex which is exploring whether training landowners to vaccinate badgers on their land, could be the future of badger vaccination policy across the UK with a consultation expected this Autumn.
The five-year, government funded programme is edging towards the halfway mark with some promising results. It provides an exciting opportunity for local farmers and landowners within the community to make a significant difference in the battle against TB in cattle and wildlife.
Covering 250 km2, it has been coordinated by a local veterinary group with the vaccinations being carried out by members of the local farming community that have completed the required training courses.
It has been reported that more than 100 farmers are taking part and last year the project team vaccinated 562 badgers last year demonstrating that there is strong engagement within the community, a drive to carry out this important work and that success is achievable using this model.
Sett-ing Out the Future
While we believe regulations and restrictions on cattle movements as well as the development of cattle vaccine offer the best long-term way to reduce bTB in the cattle population, vaccinating badgers against bovine TB (bTVB) has also been an important part of the suite of measures helping to tackle the disease in cattle.
The Badger Vaccination Programme at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust began in 2014 and grew to become one of the largest vaccination programmes in the UK working closely with the Government to help train vaccinators from across the country.
Our programme has demonstrated that vaccinating badgers is possible, that it’s better, cheaper and more humane than culling and was key to DEFRA committing to the policy change to end intensive culling and instead implement a farmer led badger vaccination programme.
The government says the results of the five-year trial in East Sussex will help inform how it rolls out vaccination schemes at scale going forward and we call on the government to urgently consult on these new measures to move the future of badger vaccination policy forward, end the badger cull sooner and move to cattle measures instead.
Read more about the pilot here: VESBA - Vaccinating East Sussex Badgers