§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will arrange for the area of some farms where a breakdown or breakdowns involving bovine tuberculosis has occurred to be exempt from badger control to enable an assessment of the control programme to be made.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonAn experimental area already exists where badgers are not removed when TB breakdowns in cattle occur. This area, which is in Gloucestershire, contains 18 farms which are not subject to badger control.
The creation of additional areas comparable with the Gloucestershire study area was considered by Professor 240W Dunnet in his review of the badger control strategy in 1986. He concluded that the cost of maintaining such areas made the proposal impractical.
The current badger control strategy is that recommended by Professor Dunnet. It is kept under review, but in accordance with Professor Dunnet's recommendation it needs to operate for at least three years before a reliable review of its effects on the extent of herd breakdowns can be carried out.