Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Labour in vow to scrap badger cull in TB battle
LABOUR has pledged to end the badger cull if it wins power at the next general election. The divisive policy, which is supported by many livestock farmers in the South West, has taken place in England since 2011, firstly as pilot schemes and then as part of a wider bovine TB eradication strategy.
Earlier this year, figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showed that more than 19,000 cattle were slaughtered between July 2022 and June 2023 due to the disease.
Controlled shooting of badgers was trialled in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013 and 2014. Since then, the number new of cull zones, issued by Natural England, has expanded to cover counties from Cornwall to Cumbria, something which animal rights groups have staunchly challenged.
Shadow Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner has confirmed that if Labour wins power at the next election, due before January 2025, it would strive to make England bovine TB-free by 2038. He said his party would scrap the badger cull and tackle the disease using other methods, including vaccines and biosecurity measures.
We’re going to make England bovine TB free by 2038, but with a range of measures that do not include culling DANIEL ZEICHNER
He told the Guardian: “I’ve spent a long time looking at this. The 2018 Godfrey review, the last piece of work done by the Government, found that badger culling is not the answer.
“We’re going to make England bovine TB free by 2038, but with a range of measures that do not include culling.”
Labour’s stance on the issue is disputed by the Conservative Government, which argues that badger culling should play a role in the control of TB. Although her predecessor George Eustice promised to phase out the cull by 2025, the Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has confirmed her department would be “led by the science” and that there had not been enough progress on other solutions.
She said recently: “I’ve been very clear in England. I’m not going to be held by some artificial deadline that has already been put in place. We will keep culling for as long as it is the best way to do that.”
Responding to Ms Coffey’s comments, Mr Zeicher said: “Coffey is trying to make this some kind of dividing line issue. I think we should be moving to a different approach, because we’ve been culling for quite a long time, and it’s still a big issue and we’re still spending £80 million a year on compensation [to farmers whose cattle have to be slaughtered owing to TB], so it’s not exactly working is it?”
He added: “This is probably one of the most distressing issues people in the countryside come up against. So I’m hugely sympathetic to that but I actually want to beat it. And we can do that with vaccines and biosecurity measures.”
Trials for a cattle vaccine and new skin test for bovine TB have so far been successful, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) announced earlier this year. It is hoped that the combination of CattleBCG vaccine and the Detect Infected among Vaccinated Animals (DIVA) skin test will be deployable in the next few years.
Bovine TB continues to have an immense impact on thousands of farming families across the country, particularly in the High Risk Area (HRA) of the South West, with a herd breakdown causing emotional, financial and mental strain.
According to Defra’s latest figures, the number of TB-related cattle slaughtered over the course of a year has fallen to the lowest level in 15 years. A total of 19,216 animals were culled in England between July 2022 and June 2023 – representing a 21% decrease on the previous year and the first time since January 2008 that there have been fewer than 20,000 slaughterings over a 12-month period.
In the HRA, the number of cattle killed over the same time frame – July 2022 to June 2023 – as a result of the disease was 15,241, down by 24% from 2021-2022. The HRA includes Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset. Cattle herds in this large geographical area are subject to sixmonthly TB testing by default, although those at lower risk that meet certain criteria are tested on an annual basis.
David Barton, regional livestock board chair for National Farmers’ Union (NFU) South, said: “The current government strategy to control and eradicate bTB, which gives farmers access to all available measures to tackle the disease, has been successful. Since it was introduced, the strategy has reduced disease incidence, giving farmers, their families and their businesses muchneeded relief.
“We will continue to work with government to ensure a successful strategy to eradicate bTB is based on sound science and evidence.”