Wexford): I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 37 and 148 together. 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.
It is generally accepted that wildlife, including badgers, have a role in the transmission of bovine TB. A strong and growing body of scientific evidence supports this view and a number of projects undertaken have demonstrated that removal of infected badgers facilitate the reduction in TB levels in cattle. It is also recognised that wildlife is just one of a number of sources of TB infection. Therefore, the removal of badgers is undertaken where infected badgers have been identified in areas with high levels of bovine TB. In the longer term research is in progress on the development of a vaccine designed to protect badgers and other species from tuberculosis.
My Department have neither directed nor obliged the Wildlife Service of the Office of Public Works to issue licences, nor are they empowered to do so. The current limited degree of badger removal is licensed because of the scientific evidence to which I have referred.