HC Deb 08 December 1993 vol 234 cc256-7W
Mr. Milburn

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many licences have been granted to disturb badger setts in each of the last five years; and where were the setts concerned.

Mr. Soames

Legislation requiring the issue of licences to allow interference with badger setts came into force in October 1991. The first licences were issued in February 1992 and the number issued since for each of the Ministry's regions is as follows:

February to December 1992 January to October 1993
Northern Region 1 1
North East Region 5 3
North Mercia Region 28 18
South Mercia Region 13 19
East Midlands Region 11 11
Anglia Region 4 3
South East Region 18 25
Wessex Region 56 105
South West Region 18 23
Total 154 208

Mrs. Browning

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement about the link between badgers and tuberculosis in cattle generally, and in the south-west of England in particular, and about her Department's response to the prevalence of TB breakdowns.

Mr. Soames

Tuberculosis in cattle in some areas and particularly in the south-west of England remains a worrying problem. It has serious implications for animal health and for those farmers who have disease breakdowns in their herds. In the south-west of England this year there have been 197 new confirmed breakdowns up until the end of November, significantly exceeding 121 for 1992 as a whole.

Two independent inquiries have looked into the question of bovine TB and concluded that one of the significant factors is the reservoir of infection in the wild badger population. The second enquiry by Professor Dunnet in 1986 recommended that the Department develop a diagnostic test to detect TB infection in the live badger. This has now been done and the test has been evaluated in field conditions.

The results were presented to a meeting of the consultative panel on badgers and bovine tuberculosis which met on 18 November. While the panel was not unanimous in its views on the way forward, there was general recognition that the Government needed to address the increased incidence of badger-related TB breakdowns. Agriculture Ministers have taken into account the views expressed at the meeting and have decided to set in place an action programme of six measures:

  1. 1. research to develop effective vaccines for TB in badgers;
  2. 2. research to develop new or improved diagnostic tests for the presence of infection in cattle and badgers;
  3. 3. continued monitoring of infection in the wild badger population where appropriate;
  4. 4. continued support for research into ways of avoiding transmission of disease from badgers to cattle;
  5. 5. co-operation with university departments on proposed studies on the effects of badger removal operations on the badger population and its impact on the subsequent spread of disease within the badger population; and importantly,
  6. 6. a trial of a new badger control strategy based on the application of the test for tuberculosis in the live badger.

The trial will be undertaken in the areas of the south-west of England which have the greatest disease problem. The trial will have to run for at least five years to generate scientifically valid results and will look at the effect on the incidence of TB in cattle in the areas surrounding the farm where a TB breakdown occurs.

There will be three approaches: no action at all against badgers where the farmer who has suffered the herd breakdown decides that no action should be taken; the application of the existing strategy of trapping and killing badgers on the farm or part of the farm were the disease outbreak occurrred; and finally, in about half the high-risk areas, an extension beyond the farm to apply the live test and to trap and test badgers on neighbouring farms. The trapping and testing will be carried out on a sett-by-sett basis: where a sett is found to contain one or more badgers positive to TB in the test then the positive badgers and any other badgers caught from that sett will be killed. Setts which test negative will not be disturbed. As in the current strategy no action will be taken if there is no evidence to suggest that the original breakdown in the cattle herd was related to badgers. Agriculture Ministers have also decided to continue the existing policy of not killing any lactating sows which are trapped because of the resulting impact on the cubs which are dependent on her.

In areas outside the trial the existing arrangements will continue which will mean that no action will be taken against badgers on any farm in those areas where there has been a tuberculosis breakdown unless it has been specifically sanctioned by a sub-Committee of the consultative panel on badgers and bovine tuberculosis.

I will be depositing a note in the Library of the House today.