24 Apr Badger vaccination

With the gradual withdrawal of culling licences, vaccinating badgers against bTB will become an important tool to control the infection pressure badgers present to cattle.  A few facts that are worth sharing are that;

• Vaccination reduces the risk of a badger getting TB by up to 76%
• When over a third of adults are vaccinated, cubs within the social group are 79% less likely to be infected with TB
• Vaccinated badgers that do become infected get fewer and less severe lesions and excrete less bacteria, so pose less of a risk to cattle 
• Yearly vaccination will reduce TB in badger populations and helps keep uninfected badgers free of TB

APHA-delivered badger vaccination trials took place in several areas of the UK in 2022. This will generate important information on the practicalities of trapping and vaccinating badgers.  However, if badger vaccination is to be rolled out on a larger scale there is also the need for farmers to train in trapping and vaccinating badgers.  One example of this is the East Sussex badger vaccination project which will run over five years from 2021, training local farmers to vaccinate badgers in their area.  Evidence exists that even post-cull, sufficient numbers of badgers can be cage trapped for vaccination if correct methods are used. Whilst many farmers are understandably frustrated at the withdrawal of culling as a method of controlling the threat badgers may pose to their cattle, this decision is unlikely to be reversed in the near future.  We, as vets, can play an important role in helping them to engage with alternative control methods such as vaccination. The more badgers that are vaccinated, the more we will know about the effect this has on levels of bTB in both badgers and cattle. More information on starting a badger vaccination group can be found on the TB Hub at https://tbhub.co.uk/tb-in-wildlife/tb-in-badgers/vaccination-of-badgers-against-tb/ and anyone interested in starting a group is encouraged to contact [email protected]