Badgers and Cattle TB
Backgound
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is one of the most difficult and costly animal health diseases facing the farming industry. The association between bTB in cattle and badgers is a complex and contentious issue. Sir John Krebs recommended that the Radomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) be initiated to understand the effect of culling badgers on the spread of TB in cattle. Defra created an Independent Science Group (ISG) to oversee the RBCT, which published its final report in June 2007. The ISG made a number of recommendations. Mainly that culling badgers was not an effective method of controlling bTB and that increased cattle measures would be more efficacious.
In July 2008, Defra announced that the UK Government would not consider a badger cull. Instead, greater resources would be committed to vaccination, with an extra £20 million to be invested to 2011.
Articles Published in BES Journals
Vicente, J., et al. (2007) Social organization and movement influence the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in an undisturbed high-density badger (Meles meles) population. Journal of Animal Ecology, 76 (2), 348–360.
Synthesis and applications: This study found that TB rates were lowest when there was the least movement of individual badgers between groups. The evidence suggests that movement of individuals between groups may be instrumental in driving disease dynamics at the population level, and adds further support to the contention that the social disruption of badger populations, for example by culling, is likely to promote disease spread.
Woodroffe, R., et al. (2006) Effects of culling on badger (Meles meles) spatial organization: implications for the 14 control of bovine tuberculosis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43 (1), 1-10.
Synthesis and applications: This study demonstrates that culling badgers profoundly alters their spatial organization as well as their population density. These changes have the potential to influence contact rates between cattle and badgers, both where culls occur and on adjoining land. These results may help to explain why localized badger culling appears to have failed to control cattle TB, and should be taken into account in determining what role, if any, badger culling should play in future control strategies.
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