Killing badgers will not eradicate bTB

Dear editor,

Does the eradication of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in the national herd lie beyond killing badgers?

A view expressed by Dick Sibley, a Devon based veterinarian with 47 years’ experience, spoken during a recent meeting hosted by the Northern Ireland’s Pedigree Cattle Trust in Armagh, would indicate that the answer is yes.

In a wide ranging presentation, he told his farming audience that focusing only on badgers is not the correct approach to bTB.

According to Sibley, based on his experiences gained in the South West of England over recent years, badgers are not the primary source of tuberculosis infection in cattle.

In his learned view, the use of badger culling to help eradicate bTB as akin to “putting a plaster on a gaping wound”.

In addition, he believes that the bTB skin test, currently used widely in the UK and Ireland, is not fit for purpose due to its herd not individual animal approach to identifying the presence of bTB.

With this informed opinion, why are badgers still seen by the Ireland’s farming community as the villain of an ongoing disease control pantomime?

In 2023, around €74.3 million was spent on the bTB eradication programme of which €7.7 million was spent on wildlife control.

The DAFM is badger-centric in its approach to controlling the spread of bovine TB.

A response to a recent Dáil Question revealed that the vast majority of the badgers (80%) cruelly snared and killed by the Department of Agriculture and later tested for TB were found to not have the disease.

When it is traffic sign clear that culling badgers by snare/rifle will not solve or contain bTB, those with a skin in the disease game persist in following the culde-sac badger trail.

A scientific, effective, and humane bTB control strategy is the way forward.

This would involve cattle-based measures while leaving badgers alone.

It is worth a try because how badgers hearts must be stilled to prove a lie.

Yours,

John Tierney

Campaigns Director Association of Hunt Saboteurs PO Box 4734

Dublin 1