Skip to Navigation | Skip to Content



Bovine TB: Badgers and bTB

Both badgers and cattle have been shown to carry Bovine TB, and there has been much debate around the transmission of the disease between the two species.

Bovine TB is transmitted between cattle, amongst badgers and between cattle and badgers. But what has dominated the debate is whether badger culling could be effective in controlling the disease.

On the 7th July 2008 Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made a statement to Parliament that the Government’s policy will be not to issue any licences to farmers to cull badgers for TB control, while remaining open to the possibility of revisiting this policy under exceptional circumstances, or if new scientific evidence were to become available.

Within this announcement was also increased investment in vaccines and the Secretary of State’s intention to establish a Bovine TB Partnership Group with the industry to develop a joint plan for tackling Bovine TB.

Localised control cull might also be used in those areas where the disease is wide spread amongst badgers and might compliment the countryman approach. The DVD presents practical steps to identify healthy badger communities. Culling healthy badgers risks disrupting communities and spreading disease to neighbouring farms. The Farming Minister, Jim Paice has recently announced the intention to allow culling of unhealthy badgers in Devon and Cornwall.


Contact us at MVF if you need more help >>

Back to top