Pilot badger culls given go-ahead

Controversial badger culling to tackle tuberculosis in cattle is set to go ahead this summer, after two pilot schemes were given the green light.

Pilot culls in west Gloucestershire and west Somerset, which will see the killing of 70% of badgers in each area, have been authorised by Government agency Natural England after final licence conditions were met, with a third scheme in Dorset being prepared as a reserve to prevent any further delays.

The two pilot culls were delayed last year in the face of bad weather and the discovery that there were more badgers in the areas than previously estimated.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson told farmers at the National Farmers' Union conference in Birmingham that he was committed to making sure the pilots went ahead. He said tackling bovine TB had cost the taxpayer £500 million in the past 10 years, and costs could reach £1 billion over the next decade if the disease was left unchecked.

Mr Paterson said that research in the UK had shown that culling badgers, which can transmit TB to cattle, could reduce the levels of the disease in herds, and that Britain had to learn from experience elsewhere that the tuberculosis could not effectively be curbed without tackling the problem in wildlife.

He said he wanted to see effective and affordable vaccines deployed for both cattle and badgers as quickly as possible but it was likely to take another decade before the deployment of a cattle vaccine which is validated and legal under EU regulations could take place.

Mr Paterson said: "Bovine TB is spreading at an alarming rate and causing real devastation to our beef and dairy industry." He added that Natural England issued authorisation letters which confirmed culling could proceed this summer, as an important step towards taking the action needed to tackle the spread of TB in wildlife.

"I am determined that there are no further delays this year. That is why we have taken the sensible step with the farming industry to elect a reserve area that can be called upon should anything happen to prevent culling in Somerset or Gloucester. These pilot culls are just one part of our approach to control and eradicate this dreadful disease."

The move was welcomed by National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall who said it would have been easy for the Environment Secretary to let TB slip down the list of priorities after last year's delay.

The Environment Department said the cull had been designed to minimise the risk of badgers moving around and spreading the disease, and that research had shown that culling could reduce TB by around 16% in cattle herds.