The results of two government-commissioned studies into the number of dead badgers infected with bovine TB (bTB) have finally been released, confirming that badgers are being scapegoated for the spread of the disease.

The ‘Badgers Found Dead’ studies (BFDS) by Nottingham and Surrey Universities, commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2016 and completed in 2018, looked at the rate of bTB infection in badgers found dead in ‘Edge Areas’ in England. Edge Areas are those situated between ones with high and low levels of bTB. Most of the badgers examined were killed by vehicles.

The study of the northern edge areas by Nottingham University detected bTB in only 8.3 per cent of the 610 badgers tested. But the vast majority of these showed no clear signs of tuberculosis lesions - a typical symptom of infection - and are described in the report as “‘latently’ infected – i.e. not showing symptoms and non-infectious.” In the southern Edge Areas, of the 372 dead badgers examined, only three tested positive, all from Oxfordshire. None of them showed signs of lesions. 

Jo Bates-Keegan, Chair of the Badger Trust, said in a press release: “The BFDS data supports our view that badgers are not in fact a reservoir host for bovine TB, but instead simply a spillover host.” This means that without repeated re-infection from the reservoir host, badgers would not continue to have bTB. 

The findings of the studies also confirm that the majority of badgers shot as part of the government’s cull policy are unlikely to be infected or infectious. Yet not only has the cull continued in many counties for years, but in 2020 DEFRA granted licenses for badger culls to take place in 11 new Edge Areas. The studies show that this was unjustified and went against evidence to which DEFRA already had access. In addition, the evidence was already available to show that culling likely increases the number of badgers infected with bTB.

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Culling in the new Edge Areas is also counterproductive given that ten out of the 11 are within counties that have badger vaccination programmes. Culls do not discriminate between vaccinated and unvaccinated badgers, and bringing culls into new areas disincentivises farmers and landowners from choosing vaccination for the badgers on their land. Regional badger groups which carry out much of the time-intensive vaccination on a voluntary basis argue that DEFRA should use the Edge Areas for proper vaccination trials so that evidence on their effectiveness can be gathered.

The focus for minimising the spread of bTB, Bates-Keegan said, should be on “an ineffective cattle test that leaves infected cattle in the herd, and a complete lack of emphasis by DEFRA and the [Animal and Plant Health Agency] on any number of other potential factors – from a lack of biosecurity measures to infected slurry or watercourses.”

DEFRA says that a cattle vaccine is being trialled and may be deployed by 2025. It has also given £2.27 million to a five-year badger vaccination programme in East Sussex, the results of which will “help inform the government on how to deploy future vaccination schemes at scale across England, halting the culling of this protected species.” The National Farmers Union opposes the scheme, as it believes culling badgers is the best way to control the spread of bTB.

Of course, one solution that would help to reduce the spread of bTB is completely ignored: reducing the number of cows being farmed. The case for doing so on climate and animal welfare grounds is already strong; protecting our wildlife from the diseases that spillover from farmed animals is yet another compelling reason.

Claire Hamlett is a freelance journalist, writer and regular contributor at Surge. Based in Oxford, UK, Claire tells stories that challenge systemic exploitation of and disregard for animals and the environment and that point to a better way of doing things.

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