Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Oct 1992

Vol. 423 No. 4

Written Answers. - Bovine TB.

Brendan Howlin

Question:

176 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the Wildlife Service has been instructed to grant licences to snare and shoot badgers in TB blackspot areas; if there is compelling scientific evidence linking badgers with bovine TB and if he will give details of such evidence; if it has been brought to his attention that, when licences are granted during the breeding season, badger cubs are left to starve underground when their nursing mothers are eradicated; his views on whether the capture of badgers by snares, especially during the lactating period, is justifiable; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

The badger is a protected species under the Wildlife Act, 1976, and may only be removed humanely for research purposes, strictly in accordance with conditions specified in licences issued by the Wildlife Service of the Office of Public Works.

In the context of the bovine TB eradication scheme my Department applies for such licences where tuberculosis infected badgers have been identified in areas with high levels of bovine TB.

It is now widely recognised that badgers play a role in the transmission of bovine TB and there is a growing body of scientific evidence to support this opinion. This was the consensus view expressed at the Royal Irish Academy Conference on "The Badger" which was held last year. In addition, a review by the Economic and Social Research Institute entitled "Badgers and Bovine T.B. in Ireland", published in 1989, states that in many parts of the country it may not be possible to control bovine TB without controlling the badger population. The experience of other countries where tuberculosis became established in wildlife supports this view.

It is also recognised that wildlife is just one of a number of sources of TB infection.