Badgers and bovine TB (bTB)

Bovine TB, as the name suggests is a cattle disease. The overwhelming scientific evidence identifies that cattle movement is most impactful factor in the spread of bTB. Despite this, the Badger has been scapegoated for their role in the spread of bTB, owing to the presence of a bTB reservoir in badgers.

An enlightening example using Whole Genome Sequencing in Cumbria, showed that a recent outbreak came from infected livestock imported from Ireland. Six years later the same strain of bTB appeared in the Badger population.

A study in Northern Ireland investigating the genomics of interspecies disease transmission estimated that badger-to-cattle transition rates were 800 times greater than cattle-to-badger transition rates. It concluded that cattle were driving infection dynamics.

The Badgerwatch Ireland remains strongly opposed to badger culling as a means of controlling bTB in cattle. The results are highly contested, and many scientists have questioned how effective it is at all.

A 2022 scientific UK study analysed government data on bovine TB (bTB) from 2009 to 2020 and found that the decline in bTB cases was likely due to cattle-focused biosecurity measures introduced before or during the culling period. The study found no link between badger culling and a drop in bTB in cattle. Additionally, in ten high-risk counties, bTB cases in cattle were already decreasing before intensive badger culls began.

For anyone with an interest in the bTB, we highly recommend the following booklet published by the USPCA and the Northern Ireland badger group, about badgers and bovine TB:
Dispelling the myths: Why badgers aren't to blame for bovine TB.

A more comprehensive report with references to examples quoted above, may be found on the UK’s Badger Trust’s website at:
Tackling Bovine TB Together