Research leading to badger culls in Derbyshire may be inaccurate, wildlife group says

An Animal and Health Agency (APHA) report stated that, in 2018, 77 per cent of new cases of TB in cattle in Derbyshire were caused by badgers – a figure significantly larger than any estimate in the peer reviewed scientific literature for the role of badgers in bovine TB.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust was concerned about the accuracy of the figure and commissioned a report to investigate the claim.

The report’s findings revealed that the APHA’s figures, in the wildlife trust’s opinion, were subjective and biased towards badgers being the cause of a large number of outbreaks of TB in cattle without clear science to support the claim.

According to the trust, APHA data also claimed that TB is endemic in badgers in parts of Derbyshire but failed to provide supporting data.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust campaigned against and successfully avoided the badger cull in 2019. The findings of the report could have implications for cull decisions in the future for Derbyshire and more widely as cull companies submit applications to trap and shoot hundreds of badgers again this autumn.

Dr Sue Mayer, a co-author of the report, ch a irman of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and a veterinary surgeon, said: “Despite the government moving away from culling, we expect Derbyshire farmers to submit applications to shoot badgers this autumn. We want to share our important findings to better inform government decision-making and enable us to keep Derbyshire a cull-free zone.”

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has a lso released its report highlighting the success of the 2019 badger vaccination season, now in its sixth year.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, working with the National Trust, is leading the UK’s largest badger vaccination programme – inoculating hundreds of badgers against bovine TB in a project which the trust now wants to extend.

A record 221 badgers were vaccinated between in 2019 by highly trained teams of volunteers across a wide area of Derbyshire.