Reply from David Cameron's office re Badger Cull - any comments for my reply?

[Guest guest]

Dear Jo,

I am writing on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your recent e-mail.

It might be helpful if I set out in more detail why we believe a package of measures is necessary to eradicate bovine TB.

Of course, we fully understand the public concern over this issue. None of us wants to cull badgers, but the fact is they suffer dreadfully from TB and are a significant source of infection. The scientific data supports the conclusion that culling gives an overall beneficial effect on TB in cattle in those areas where there are high and persistent levels of TB in cattle, providing the culling of badgers meets certain conditions. This is a point upon which the Chairman of Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG), and the former Government Chief Scientist, Sir David King, are in agreement.

Ongoing analysis of the badger culling trials shows that the effect on reducing cattle herd incidence inside the proactively culled areas has continued after culling stopped. As the Government’s TB Advisory Group has stated, these results affect the main figures in the ISG’s Final Report by increasing the overall beneficial effect on cattle herd incidence since culling stopped to about 30%. The overall deleterious effect has fallen and is now considered statistically “non-significant.”

The Government’s policy is to wait until there is a vaccine, but an oral vaccine will not be available until 2014, at the earliest. In the meantime, tens of thousands of cattle will be slaughtered, on top of the 200,000 that have already been killed since 1997. The cost to the taxpayer has been over £600 million and the problem is getting worse, doubling in incidence every 4½ years and increasingly affecting domestic animals such as cats and dogs. This approach is deeply irresponsible and has led the Government’s own advisory group to comment: “Given the current rate of spread of TB we are concerned there may be over-reliance on a future vaccination programme (cattle and badgers) - this should not negate the urgent need for measures to tackle the problem now.”

While a vaccine is a vital tool to develop, it is also important to note that vets and scientists agree that it is not the sole solution, because vaccinating an infected animal will make no difference and in some areas up to 80% of badgers are carrying the disease. It would also cause those badgers to shed far more infection. Both vaccination and removal should form part of the disease control strategy, along with the urgent development of the PCR test, which would provide the opportunity to distinguish between sets which hold infected badgers and those which do not. PCR (as a diagnostic tool) has been in use for some years in the NHS, but the Government has been unacceptably slow to recognise its potential for use on wildlife.

The Conservatives reluctantly accept the conclusions drawn by the independent Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, Sir David King, and the Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales, that the removal of badgers could contribute towards the reduction in incidence of the disease. With the Liberal Democrats also calling for badger control to help tackle bovine TB, the Government is increasingly isolated on this issue.

Targeted culling of badgers in TB hotspot areas is only one part of our approach. We do not believe it is the only answer and it must be combined with a number of other actions. These include more frequent testing of cattle, improved farm bio-security, further development of vaccines for both species, and the promotion of the polymarese chain reaction (PCR) test to identify the disease in live animals.

We want to see healthy wildlife alongside healthy cattle but unless action begins soon the outlook for both badgers and cattle is bleak.

Thank you, once again, for writing to David about this issue.

Yours sincerely,

 

Alice Sheffield

Office of David Cameron MP

House of Commons

London SW1A 0AA