§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's policy on badger culling. [48588]
§ Mr. MorleyAll badger culling which once formed part of the strategy for controlling TB in cattle has been suspended. The only culling presently undertaken is that conducted in connection with the "Krebs" field trial.
TB in cattle is one of the most difficult animal health problems that we face and the Government is determined to look at the full range of factors, including the role of badgers, that might be involved. The Government has put in place a wide-ranging research programme of which the field trial is part. It is designed to determine once and for all the role of badgers in cattle TB and whether culling them is an effective way of reducing the disease. The trial will provide much other data including the spatial relationship between TB in cattle and badgers.
By ensuring that future policies to control cattle TB are underpinned by sound science the Government is seeking to ensure that healthy cattle and badgers can live side by side in the countryside.