Bovine TB is an awful disease that causes suffering to cattle and farmers. However it’s long been known that the main cause is cattle-to-cattle transmission, which is why the badger cull (which has wiped out nearly all the population of one of our favourite mammals) has been so controversial.
Culling is due to end in a few years, but that means even more badgers will be trapped and shot, when there is absolutely no need. This is just politics, and something urgently needs to be done.
Badgers are familiar for their black-and-white stripes. These nocturnal mammals live in elaborate family setts (often passed down over generations) that mainly live on earthworms (they can eat up to 200 each night). Plus they eat fallen berries, slugs and snails (a good reason to choose safe humane slug/snail deterrents) and occasionally hedgehogs (their endangered status is not to badgers, but habitat loss and road traffic accidents).
One in five badgers presently die in road accidents. And although badgers have lived alongside us for over 250,000 years, around half the native population has now been shot dead due to the cull. And some are not killed by skilled marksmen, so crawl off to die. All due to the false belief that they are responsible for causing England’s huge bovine TB epidemic.
There are no badger culls in Wales and Scotland, yet these countries have less bovine TB.
What Causes Bovine TB?
Bovine TB is a zoonotic disease, so it can spread to other species. Yet less than 5% of culled badgers have been found to carry TB serious enough, to infect cattle or other badgers.
Many believe the reason for badgers culls is simply political stubbornness. The previous government’s links with the hunting industry led many farmers to be misled into thinking that badgers were the main cause of bovine BV. It’s now proven that around 94% of cases are due to cattle-to-cattle transmission.
Although (kinder, cheaper and more effective) badger vaccination projects are carried out by wildlife volunteers, we must solve the cause.
A cattle vaccination is the obvious answer, but it’s only in August 2024 that field tests are beginning. People are asking the new Labour government why it won’t fund this (and stop badger culls) immediately. This would protect cattle, badgers and farmers.
How Can Farmers Stop Bovine TB?
As stated above, a cattle vaccination is by far the best solution. But until that occurs, there are other ways that farmers can help prevent cattle-to-cattle transmission of bovine TB, endorsed by farm vets and The Badger Trust:
Better Cattle Testing
The bovine skin test is not reliable, so many cows are missed. At present, vets are not automatically notified of results (if they were, they could inform nearby farms to take actions like movement controls, and avoidance of shared grazing and vehicles).
Controls on Cattle Movement
Buying one infected cow at a market, could infect the rest of the herd. The Badger Trust wants cattle not to be sent to low-risk areas if purchased, unless tested to be TB-free.
Effective Slurry Management
As slurry contain TB for up to 6 months (and also live in hay, silage and water), more careful cleansing methods are needed on farms (at gates especially). And also for footwear and vehicles.
Additional Biosecurity Measures
Farmers should prove they have taken additional measures, before being compensated. This includes doing all of the above, plus taking measures to humanely prevent wildlife from living in farm buildings, using methods like sheeted gates.
Although farmers do undoubtedly suffer, they need to take some responsibility for ensuring that infected badgers are not near farms. And prove they are following stringent advice, to prevent cattle-to-cattle transmission of TB.
Choose Organic (not intensive) Farming
England has a particular problem with bovine TB, due to higher rates of intensive farming than most other countries. When cattle are housed indoors during winter, this increases the chance of infections spreading (and stress, which lowers immunity).
Sometimes of course cattle are taken indoors for bad weather, but organic farmers ensure comfort and happiness, over intensive farms.
A few years ago, one organic farmer in the Cotswolds fed local badgers a molasses mineral block with high selenium. He never had one cow in his herd with TB, believing that keeping the immunity high of local wildlife could be the answer.
He contacted DEFRA to ask if blood profiles of badgers had mineral deficiencies. And was amazed to learn that despite tens of millions of pounds spent on culling badgers, nobody had bothered to investigate what he thinks may be the preventive answer.
The Badger Cull Has Not Helped Farmers
Many farmers have had entire herds slaughtered, due to TB infection (because there are not enough farm sanctuaries to find homes for remaining healthy animals, if farms cannot be sold).
Researchers at Oxford University say that the badger cull may actually have increased bovine TB in neighbouring herds, by almost a third.
Queen guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May (who has campaigned against the badger cull of years) says that farmers are being let down by DEFRA, by being fed incorrect advice, on how to protect their herds.
Sign the End the Cull Petition (created after publication of The Badger Trust’s publication Tackling Bovine TB Together, calls for an end to culls. To help not just badgers and cattle, but also farmers.