Labour’s promise to end badger culling by 2029 could be achieved, but only with a major expansion of testing and vaccination, according to a government-commissioned report.
Badgers are culled because they can spread bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to cattle, a disease costing taxpayers and farmers around £150m annually. More than 210,000 badgers have been killed since the cull began in 2013.
Sir Charles Godfray, the report’s author, said current investment in testing and vaccination is insufficient to suppress bTB. Ministers currently face a “small chance” of meeting the government’s 2038 eradication target without a major increase in resources and urgency.
“The evidence continues to show that badgers can provide a vector of the bacteria for cattle and vice versa,” Godfray said, while stressing that non-lethal control methods could replace culling. The report recommends cattle microchipping, blood tests for more accurate detection, and large-scale vaccination of cattle and badgers, drawing lessons from the rapid response seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prof James Wood of Cambridge University said hi-tech testing and vaccination offer “huge opportunities” to reduce transmission in herds, particularly large ones.
Farming minister Daniel Zeichner welcomed the findings and confirmed a new badger vaccinator field force will be deployed next year. Work is also underway on a cattle vaccine, with over £40m invested alongside Scottish and Welsh governments. A full eradication strategy is expected early next year.
