§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has that the spread of bovine tuberculosis is caused by badgers.
§ Mrs. BrowningExperimental control areas in Dorset and Gloucestershire, set up in 1975, provided evidence of the causal link between infection in badgers, and cattle herds. After removal of the badgers, there were no further cattle TB herd breakdowns in these areas for many years. Two independent reports, by Lord Zuckerman in 1980 and Professor Dunnet in 1986, concluded from the evidence obtained under laboratory conditions at the Central Veterinary Laboratory and from the field that badgers can and do harbour bovine tuberculosis and represent a potential threat to cattle. All cattle tuberculosis breakdowns are the subject of detailed epidemiological investigation by MAFF veterinary staff. These show that badgers are implicated in at least three quarters of cattle herd tuberculosis breakdowns in south-west England.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many badgers he estimates have been culled as a result of bovine tuberculosis in each of the last three years(a) in England and (b) in Nottinghamshire.
§ Mrs. BrowningThe number of badgers killed in Ministry removal operations as a result of bovine tuberculosis in England in the last three years is as follows:
- 1992: 1,054
- 1993: 1,094
- 1994: 1,674
None of these operations took place in Nottinghamshire.