NFU president warns Labour not to end badger cull early

NFU president Tom Bradshaw has warned the Labour government about the risks of removing badger culling before proven alternatives are ready.

Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd, Powys, Mr Bradshaw told a Welsh farming audience that the decade-long, farmer-led badger culling programme in England had been a big success.

The farm leader said official government data showed that new cattle TB outbreaks had fallen by as much as 60% in some high risk areas, following four years of culling badgers.

See also: Bovine TB eradication my top priority, says Zeichner

But, with cattle vaccination and the associated diagnostic test to distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated cattle now looking unlikely to be available until 2027 at the earliest, Mr Bradshaw said it would be a “tragedy” if Labour withdraws badger culling from England prematurely.

Realistically, by the time cattle are vaccinated, expecting to have much of an effect before 2030 would be a “huge miracle”, Mr Bradshaw told delegates.

“I just think it would be a tragedy now if cannot continue the progress that’s been made and get to this point where we can look to a TB-free England and Wales,” he said.

“That 2038 [TB eradication] target is a very, very difficult target. There no easy way to get there. But we won’t get there if we’re not using all the tools in the toolbox.”

Mr Bradshaw said the NFU would love to see cattle vaccination introduced, but it is not ready yet and its efficacy is unknown.

In the meantime, he said the NFU would like to see badger culling continue in “TB hotspot” areas where it can be shown that the disease is in the wildlife and linked to outbreaks.

Mr Bradshaw also warned that vaccination of live cattle against TB could become a trade barrier.

‘No silver bullet’

NFU Cymru Aled Jones president said cattle vaccination “won’t be a silver bullet”.

Labour’s election manifesto promised to end the “ineffective” badger cull.

But wildlife groups have accused the government of performing a U-turn after Defra secretary Steve Reed announced that he will continue to allow pre-existing cull licences to run until 2026, which the Badger Trust says could see the removal of a further 30,000 badgers.

Speaking at an NFU reception at the House of Lords in London last week, the Defra farming minister said eradicating bovine TB in England is his main priority.