Badger vaccination scheme reopens for applications

Applications have reopened for groups wishing to carry out badger vaccination in the Edge Area for bovine TB in England, as part of the government’s strategy to eradicate the disease.

Defra has put aside £300,000 of funding for this year’s Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS).

Successful projects will receive at least 50% funding towards their eligible costs over a period of four years.

See also: Expert advice: What happens if my herd fails a TB test?

The scheme aims to create a protected badger population between the High Risk and Low Risk areas of England, and to prevent further spread of the disease.

Counties in the Edge Area include Cheshire, Derbyshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire.

Vaccination role

Farm minister Robert Goodwill said: “We continue to apply different ways to tackle this devastating disease, including increased testing of cattle, improved surveillance and badger control under strict licensing criteria.

“Vaccinating badgers is one of these tools and has the potential to play an important role in preventing the spread of the disease to new areas.”

Meanwhile, Defra has released further details on its plans to introduce six-monthly TB testing of cattle in the High Risk Area, with less-frequent testing for lower-risk herds.

The department says it is working on a phased introduction from 2020 to allow farmers and veterinary businesses time to adjust. More details will be provided in due course.

Spotting disease earlier

Defra says more regular testing will help spot the disease more quickly and enable any outbreak to be dealt with rapidly.

Annual tests in the High Risk area will be preserved for herds that have gone six or more years without a TB breakdown, as well as farms accredited under the Cattle Herd Certification Standards (CHeCS) scheme which includes high biosecurity measures.

A licence for supplementary badger control in Dorset has also been authorised by Natural England, alongside authorisations for Somerset and Gloucestershire published earlier this month.

In July, Defra will conduct a telephone survey of 1,500 cattle farmers on High Risk and Edge area farms which have suffered a TB breakdown. The survey will evaluate the monetary costs involved, including staffing and loss of productivity. The results will be published in early 2020.