Not Guilty – Bovine TB Epidemic Caused by Cattle, Not
Badgers
Groundbreaking
new research shows how infected cattle missed by testing are key spreaders of
the disease
New ground-breaking research by the University of Warwick
into the spread of bovine TB (bTB) has confirmed claims by wildlife
organisations like the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild that the disease is
being spread by infected cattle – not badgers.
The paper, “A dynamic
model of bovine tuberculosis spread and control in Great Britain”, demonstrated
that the majority of herd outbreaks are caused by multiple transmission routes -
including failed cattle infection tests, cattle movement and reinfection from
environmental reservoirs. But the model proposes that ‘whilst badgers form part
of the environmental reservoir they only play a relatively minor role in the
transmission of infection’.
Dominic Dyer, of the Badger Trust and Care
for the Wild, said: "The research backs up what we have been saying all along
and should be the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous badger cull policy.
“The government and the farming industry have focussed far too much on
badgers and nowhere near enough on the gaping holes in cattle management policy,
which have been letting this disease through. The best scientific evidence
suggests that badgers are responsible for no more than six percent of new TB
outbreaks, if that. This research confirms that the vast majority of new bTB
outbreaks are due to poor TB testing, biosecurity and cattle control movements,
so maybe farmers will now be convinced to give badgers a break and start
focussing on methods that will actually work.
“We’re already seeing good
results in places where improved and more frequent testing, combined with
movement controls and better ‘biosecurity’ on farms, have been used – Northern
Ireland, Wales, and even England in the last year have seen substantial
reductions in the number of cattle slaughtered due to bTB, without any culling
of badgers. The road forward is clearly being signposted by these figures – so
we need the government to stop reversing up the cul de sac of badger culling and
actually deal with the disease in an effective manner.”
Badger Trust and
Care for the Wild acknowledge that bTB is having a terrible effect on farmers
and their cattle, and that tough action is required to really beat the
disease.
“One fact that simply isn’t being faced up to is that the skin
test to identify cows infected with TB is not fit for purpose. It misses around
one in five infected cows each time – which means that many TB infected cows
remain in the herds, spreading the disease, or are transported to other farms or
slaughterhouses without anyone knowing that they are infected.
“This new
research understands that, which is why we must consider a policy of
slaughtering whole herds if there is any trace of bTB within them. This method
seems extreme but it could be the only way we can be sure infected cattle aren’t
slipping through. And in the long-term, it could see the end of the disease. The
method has been used successfully in several European countries, and in the UK
between 1935 and 1960, and must be considered again, rather than focussing
ineffectually on badgers.”
