VetClick
Menu Menu
Login

VetClick

/ News
Thursday, 28th March 2024 | 4,184 veterinary jobs online | 102 people actively seeking work | 5,479 practices registered

Veterinary Industry News

Send us your news

BCVA Response To Government's Response To The Consultation On Supplementary Badger Culling

7 years ago
1846 views

Posted
21st July, 2017 12h27

Author
BCVA


BCVA welcomes the release of the government’s response to the consultation on Supplementary Badger Culling. Bovine Tuberculosis continues to be a major cause of concern and is a considerable threat to the viability of the UK farming industry.

A number of measures have been consulted on and implemented this year. These measures have been designed to address the disease across its spectrum of impact. There have been enhanced cattle measures introduced along with measures aimed at disease control in non-bovine species as the disease continues to spread into other farmed and domestic species. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the latest consultation regarding the simplification of surveillance in the High Risk Area amongst other measures.

The threat posed by the reservoir of infection in the badger population is well documented and it is essential that alongside the enhanced measures in farmed species we continue to bear down on this reservoir if we are to get the disease under control. We welcome the re-commencement of the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme since this can only help to limit the spread into the Low Risk Area. The value of badger vaccination in the areas where TB incidence in badgers is high still remains in doubt however and therefore culling is likely to remain the principle method for controlling the wildlife reservoirs in these areas.

BCVA continue to ask for further consideration of the evidence of sustainable numbers of badgers per square kilometre. There is interest in the Irish experience on this, but it would appear more appropriate to discuss badgers per unit area as a sustainable number, rather than % reductions during the supplementary cull phase. BCVA would therefore ask for more clarification regarding how Natural England will determine minimum and maximum numbers to be removed in each cull area. It is important for the 25 year strategy for TB eradication that we understand what a sustainable level is.

Andrew Cobner, President
21st July 2017


More from BCVA


You might be interested in...