TB vaccine 'will be tested on badgers'
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A SPECIAL vaccine to counter bovine tuberculosis (TB) is likely to be trialled on the badger population in South Devon when it becomes available next year.
The farming industry and the Government are pinning their hopes on the vaccine as the disease is causing havoc among cattle herds, with 6,000 cattle culled in Devon alone last year as a result of reacting positively to bovine TB tests.
Last summer, the Government caused consternation by refusing a cull of diseased badgers and hoping instead on the speedy development of vaccines for both cattle and badgers.
But yesterday, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said he hoped a badger vaccine would be available in 2010 – and that the South Hams could well be the testing area for it.
Speaking at the National Farmers' Union (NFU) conference in Birmingham, he told the Western Morning News: "It would seem sensible to me to trial the vaccine in a badly infected area like that" and explained that he had received a delegation from MP Anthony Steen's constituency of Totnes in his offices in London.
%3Cbody%3E%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22adDiv%22%3E%3CA%20HREF%3D%22http%3A//ads.anm.co.uk/ADCLICK/CID%3D0000b139bb3f965200000000/AAMSZ%3D452x118/SITE%3DTHISISWEMN/AREA%3DNEWS/SUBAREA%3DHOME/ARTICLE%3D703963/acc_random%3D9152834166/pageid%3D/RS%3D%22%20target%3D%22_new%22%3E%3CIMG%20SRC%3D%22http%3A//iad.anm.co.uk/house/1x1.gif%22%20ALT%3D%22Click%20here%21%22%20border%3D0%20style%3D%22margin-bottom%3A%200px%3B%22%3E%3C/A%3E%3C/div%3EHe said: "Depending on the what the scientists tell us, an injectable vaccine for badgers will be available next year, with an oral vaccine in about four years' time and a cattle vaccine in five years."
But part of the problem would be to get the European Union to accept cattle imports that had been vaccinated. Under current rules, vaccinated cattle would show up as simply carrying bovine TB and be refused entry to the Continent.
The Government was spending nearly £20 million on development vaccines, he said. But clearly, the injectable vaccine was impractical for widespread use.
Talking to farmers had left him in no doubt about the devastation caused by TB, he said.
But he was convinced he had taken the right decision in not ordering a badger cull last summer, as the major report from the Independent Scientific Group had concluded that rather than preventing the disease, a cull would lead to a greater spread by dispersing badger populations.
Mr Benn said he hoped that farming would work with the Government over a vaccination campaign, as it had done so successfully last year to prevent the spread of bluetongue disease.
NFU president Peter Kendall told Mr Benn pointedly at the conference: "You do realise some of the best farmers in the country are throwing in the towel and giving up because of this? It remains a highly emotive issue."
There was applause from the 700-strong audience when Okehampton dairy farmer Paul Griffith demanded a guarantee that Mr Benn would grant licences to cull sick badgers if that was what the Government's TB Eradication Group recommended later this year – a request that went unanswered.
Mr Steen's delegation of farmers comprised the Devon County NFU chairman Anthony Rewe, from Newton Abbot, Gordon Tully, Peter Smurdon and Richard Camp, all of whom had first hand experience of bovine TB. Mr Rewe reported: "It gave us a good chance to tell him about the 20 per cent annual increase in TB in our county, and he impressed on him the need for an interim policy to deal with the disease before the vaccine came on line. It was then that we talked about trials focussed in Devon, and I am now going to contact him asking for clarification of various points and seeking to set up the process."
But Mr Rewe added that it was clear Mr Benn would not budge on a cull of sick badgers, and nor would he revisit Devon, turning down the delegation's invitation.
"What he didn't appreciate was that the anger and frustration among affected cattle farmers is getting to breaking point," said Mr Rewe.
"Before the vaccine arrives, we are likely to have a different government, and we now need a proper statement from each of the other parties about what their policy would be.
"So we need farmers to write to their MPs so we can get a more accurate picture."
Nick Herbert, the newly appointed Shadow Environment Secretary and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on TB, said the policy of just waiting for a vaccine was "complete nonsense".
He added: "It's unacceptable for this Government to funk a decision on such a vital issue as this."