Badger vaccine project restarts

Badger vaccinations for bovine tuberculosis (BTB) have resumed in the UK, a year after supplies dried up.

Last year, the Wildlife Trust suspended its protection programme when a global shortage of the TB vaccine for humans was identified.

However, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has found new suppliers in Canada and has trained 12 volunteers to restart the programme.

Thirty badgers, including 12 cubs, have already been treated.

The trust has been working with farmers, landowners and dozens of trained volunteers since 2014 and it has been able to roll out the new vaccination programme across the country, including at Chester Zoo, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT).

The project seeks to offer an alternative to culling.

Samantha Herbert