Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
1562. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of his plans to extend the badger vaccination programme nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42208/21]
View answerIreland's TB eradication programme is informed by peer-reviewed scientific research. There is a proven link between TB infection in badgers and bovine TB.
Badger culling has been demonstrated to be highly effective in reducing the burden of bovine TB on Irish family farms for over 20 years. However, DAFM is currently committed to reducing badger culling in favour of badger vaccination which is more sustainable in the long term for both ecological and disease reasons, in line with the Programme for Government commitment. This is possible because badger vaccination has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing badger to badger TB transmission and not to be inferior to badger culling when introduced to areas with low badger densities and reduced prevalence of TB.
The current policy is to vaccinate badgers to prevent disease outbreaks and to cull badgers where necessary in response to outbreaks in areas where epidemiological investigations have demonstrated the link between badgers and TB breakdowns on cattle farms. Areas where badger culling may previously have taken place are being incorporated into the badger vaccination programme on an ongoing basis but only when any underlying disease spread to cattle from wildlife has been suppressed.
Since the commencement of badger vaccination in 2018, 19,079 Km2 of land has been switched to vaccination on a phased basis and this will continue. The scientific evidence for the efficacy of badger culling is well established and the evidence to support badger vaccination within the TB eradication scheme is being added to on an ongoing basis as additional research is published in peer reviewed scientific journals. DAFM is currently collaborating with University College Dublin and the University of Waginengen to validate the efficacy of vaccination in the field and to model where higher risks exist at a local farm level which will support better targeting of TB controls in future years.
As the level of badger vaccination increases, it is expected that there will be fewer wildlife driven TB outbreaks in cattle and thus less need for badger culling. It is likely, however, that some level of badger culling will remain necessary until TB levels have significantly reduced.
DAFM provides advice to farmers on how to reduce the risk of TB from wildlife which can be accessed at; www.bovinetb.ie.
