Labour’s plan to stop badger culling by 2029 is achievable, but only with a significant boost in testing and vaccination, a new government-commissioned report warns.
Sir Charles Godfray, who led the review, said current investment in testing and vaccinating cattle and badgers is insufficient to control bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which costs taxpayers and farmers around £150m a year. More than 210,000 badgers have been culled since 2013.
The report highlights that badgers can spread bTB to cattle, but stressed that ending the cull is possible through non-lethal methods, including cattle microchipping and vaccination programs. “Vaccination is a realistic way to stop bovine TB in badgers, but considerable work will have to be done to scale it up,” Godfray said, urging a Covid-style focus on tackling the disease.
Scientists behind the report noted that increased funding now would save money in the long term. Prof James Wood, a veterinary epidemiologist at Cambridge, said blood tests and vaccination could significantly reduce transmission in herds, particularly in large farms.
Farming minister Daniel Zeichner welcomed the findings, highlighting record badger vaccinations in 2024 and plans to deploy a new vaccinator field force, develop a cattle vaccine, and publish a comprehensive eradication strategy early next year, aiming to eliminate bTB by 2038.
