Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020
943. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of badgers that have been vaccinated and culled, respectively, in each year since 2010 and to date in 2020; his views on whether the measures have been effective in tackling tuberculosis; if vaccination or culling is more effective in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20240/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraExtensive research funded by DAFM since the 1980s concluded that badgers posed a significant disease transmission route for bovine TB (bTB). Therefore, it was critical to address this risk as part of the eradication programme. Commencing in 2002, systems were put in place whereby serious breakdowns of bTB were investigated by a state veterinarian. If evidence was established of infection being introduced by badgers, this would trigger a survey for signs of badger activity and to identify the location of badger setts. A targeted removal program would follow the completion of these surveys which involved trapping/removing badgers within a 2Km radius of the affected farm, and by this means the local badger densities would be maintained at an average of 0.5 badgers Km2, which is below the 2-3 badgers Km2 normally found in the areas of Ireland where cattle are grazed/farmed. By 2016 roughly one third (33%) of the agricultural land of the country was part of DAFMs wildlife program area, and maintaining the local badger populations at the 0.5 badgers Km2 target resulted in roughly 6,000 badgers being removed each year.
This policy is recognised as playing a crucial role in reducing bTB herd incidence from over 6.5% in 2002 to the low point achieved in 2016 of 3.27%. While the Wildlife Programme has been very successful in terms of contributing to lowering of bTB levels in cattle in recent years, it is not sustainable in the longer term given its ultimate impact on badger ecology and Ireland’s commitments under the Berne convention.
My Department has also funded a badger vaccine research programme since 2002. Results have informed and supported the development of the current badger vaccine policy which was formally launched by my Department in January 2018. The research proved that Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine (BCG) (which is used in humans) can be used in badgers to generate sufficient immunity to address the risk of TB following a large field trial carried out in a 755 Km2 area in Kilkenny over the period 2009-2012. This trial showed that BCG did protect vaccinated badgers in the wild, and that it provided levels of protection (the scientific term is efficacy) of 60% (i.e. 6 out of 10 vaccinated badgers are protected by BCG). A complementary trial (Non-Inferiority Trial) ran in areas in six (6) counties during the period 2014-2017, where capture/vaccination/release of badgers in areas was compared with capture/remove in other areas in the same counties and this trial has shown that vaccination/release can be substituted for long-term continuous culling of badgers once the densities of badgers in a bTB endemic area are first reduced by the targeted culling program which is implemented by DAFM.
My Department announced in January 2018 that the policy of vaccination of badgers would now be part of the TB eradication programme, and will eventually replace a majority of the current culling program. Beginning by expanding the vaccination areas in the initial counties where vaccine is used (counties Cork, Galway, Kilkenny, Longford, Louth, Monaghan, Tipperary and Waterford) substituting vaccination for culling will be rolled out, on a phased basis, to every county. The removal of badgers from areas with severe cattle TB outbreaks which are epidemiologically linked to badgers will continue, where necessary to reduce the risk of TB to cattle and the level of TB in the badger population.
Converting the current unvaccinated population of badgers in bTB endemic areas to a predominantly vaccinated badger population will result in fewer TB infected badgers and fewer instances of badgers infecting other badgers or cattle, and so, in conjunction with other cattle focused measures and controls, will ultimately facilitate the final eradication of bTB from Ireland’s cattle population.
The number of badgers that have been culled and vaccinated respectively in each year since 2010 and to date in 2020 are set out in the following table:
|
Year |
Culled |
Vaccinated |
|
2010 |
5,607 |
|
|
2011 |
6,679 |
|
|
2012 |
6,736 |
|
|
2013 |
5,902 |
|
|
2014 |
6,161 |
*1,000 |
|
2015 |
5,895 |
*1,000 |
|
2016 |
5,816 |
*1,000 |
|
2017 |
5,464 |
*1,000 |
|
2018 |
5,360 |
*1,000 |
|
2019 |
4,976 |
1,618 |
|
2020 |
2,428 |
2,513 |
*Vaccination of badgers in 2018 continued at the levels experienced during the trials, i.e. at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year
The 2018 End of Year Report for the Department’s Wildlife Unit is available at:
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/animalhealthwelfare/diseasecontrols/tuberculosistbandbrucellosis/tbforum/2018NPWSEndofYearReport090819.pdf.
