Badger vaccination is now a key part of the Irish TB Eradication Programme. This follows over 15 years of research work using BCG vaccine to prevent tuberculosis infection in badgers, and scientific trials carried out between 2013 and 2017 that show that vaccination is no less effective than culling.
The large-scale rollout of badger vaccination commenced in late 2019. Every year more and more of the countryside is designated as vaccination zones. This is reflected in the numbers of badgers captured for vaccination in these zones rising from an initial figure of 1,937 badgers in 2019, to 8,123 in 2024. The number of badgers that have been captured in cull and vaccine areas during the year 2022 to 2024 are set out in the table beneath;
|
Year
|
Culling Areas
|
Vaccine Areas
|
Total
|
|
2022
|
5,199
|
7,244
|
12,446
|
|
2023
|
5,462
|
9,062
|
14,524
|
|
2024
|
5,629
|
8,123
|
13,752
|
The current bovine TB eradication strategy includes a combination of badger culling and vaccination, the intention is to gradually reduce badger culling per annum in tandem with the badger vaccination, however badger vaccination alone would not be deployed in areas with a high incidence of Bovine TB.
On 9th September I published the “Bovine TB Action Plan, Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland”
There are 5 measures in the Plan which are underpinned by 30 actions:
Support herds free of bTB to remain free
Reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bTB
Detect and eliminate bTB infection as early as possible in herds with a bTB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown
Help farmers improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity
Reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bTB
One of the key actions in Measure 2: Reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bTB is to include a Test Vaccinate Remove approach to badger vaccination that will ensure that only healthy badgers will be vaccinated thus further improving the effectiveness of my Department's wildlife programme.
