INTRODUCTION

  The Farmers' Union of Wales welcomes the invitation to submit written evidence to the Agriculture Committee on the subject of badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND

  1.  The FUW has been profoundly concerned at the increasing number of cattle herds in Wales which are testing positive for TB, a situation which is progressively deteriorating with the passage of time and threatens the viability of very many cattle holdings.

  2.  Independent scientific reviews conducted under the Chairmanship of Lord Zuckerman in 1980 and by Professor Dunnet in 1986, both concluded that there was a positive link between TB in badgers and cattle. The Zuckerman enquiry was conducted in 1980 against a background where 28 new herds had tested positive for TB in Great Britain and the Dunnet enquiry was completed in 1986, a year in which there were 32 herd breakdowns. Latest available statistics show that in the period January to November 1998, the total number of herd breakdowns within Wales alone stood at 83 (Annex A).

  3.  Our members are entirely convinced, on the basis of their practical experience, and in the light of past scientific enquiries, that there is a link between TB and badgers and the transmission of the disease to cattle. It was conclusively shown in the early 1980s that the "clean ring" strategy which involved the elimination of badgers within a defined breakdown zone reduced the incidence of TB in cattle. This effect was subsequently re-affirmed by the Thornbury Research Programme which showed that when badgers where wholly excluded from a defined area, the incidence of TB in cattle declined.

  4.  Surveys have shown a substantial increase in the badger population over the past 20 years. The experience of our members has been of a steady increase in badger numbers with badger setts having been reported in areas where previously there were none. The apparent increase in the number of dead badgers on road sides following accidents with motorised vehicles provides circumstantial evidence which also lends credence to the fact that the badger population continues to increase unabated.

  5.  The badger population survey undertaken by Professor Harries of Bristol University, compared badger numbers in the period November 1985 and early 1988 with those recorded in a period between October 1994 and January 1997. The results showed that nationally, annexe setts had increased by 87 per cent, subsidiary setts by 54 per cent and an outlying setts by 55 per cent, whereas the number of disused main setts had declined by 41 per cent. These increases had occurred in most regions, including those which showed little or no change in the number of badger social groups. The total number of all types of sett had increased by some 43 per cent.

  6.  The study estimated, based on charges in activity levels that the number of badgers in Britain had increased by 77 per cent. Of this figure, 47 per cent was predicted to be due to an increase in the size of social groups with 30 per cent due to the establishment of new social groups (Annex B). Graphs showing the incidence of TB breakdown (Annex C) confirm that the disease was on a declining plane, up until the mid-seventies.

  7.  The badger population is thus far from being an endangered species but has in some areas increased to pest proportions with adverse disease, agricultural and environmental implications. Past strategies have clearly failed to contain the disease situation, as exemplified by the increased number of TB affected herds in Wales. In this context, the FUW has always considered that one of the fundamental weaknesses of past strategies was the reluctance to trap and test badgers beyond the boundaries of farms affected by a herd breakdown.

  8.  The FUW welcomed the instigation of a further independent scientific review into TB in cattle under the chairmanship of Professor John Krebs in the belief that this would provide a clear strategy for dealing with TB in cattle and badgers. Despite the Krebs review conclusion "that the sum of evidence strongly supports the view that in Britain, badgers are a significant source of TB infection in cattle", Government proposals stemming from the report do nothing to tackle the immediate economic and welfare consequences which result from the increasing incidence of Bovine Tuberculosis.

  9.  Mounting concern over the increasing number of TB breakdowns led in 1993 to the formulation of a six point strategy for research priorities into the control of TB in both badgers and cattle. Farmers are now being presented with a further set of proposals which aim to develop a long term control strategy on the basis of research and experimentation. This research programme will take five to six years at minimum to be completed. The dramatic increase in TB cattle breakdowns, together with a spiralling badger population, demand in the FUW's view, much more urgent action in the interests of cattle welfare, family farms businesses and human health.

  10. The Government's proposed strategy offers nothing for those farmers who are outside the culling trial areas. The majority of producers therefore face the prospect of a rapidly expanding badger population/deteriorating TB situation, with little prospect of any effective control measures for at least a further five years.

  11.  Recent publicity over possible transmission of Bovine TB to humans, particularly infants, together with a very real risk that the UK's TB free status is now in jeopardy further reinforce the need to take urgent action on this issue.

  12.  The FUW has, therefore, been disappointed that the deep concern and anxiety that exists amongst farmers at the increasing incidence of TB has not been fully recognised in the Government proposals stemming from the Krebs review. The human misery and grief attendant upon the destruction of individual animals, not to mention entire herds, often representing generations of breeding and a life time work, should in the Union's view, be the major consideration in developing future control strategies.

THE DESIGN AND LIKELY EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CULLING EXPERIMENT PROPOSED BY THE KREBS REPORT, AND ANY SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE INDEPENDENT EXPERT GROUP OVERSEEING THE EXPERIMENT

  13.  The key recommendation of the Krebs report was that a randomised culling trial should be established, working to standard operating procedures to be approved by the Independent Scientific Group on cattle TB. The Krebs report recommended that the randomised experiment be put into place immediately and used to determine the impact and effectiveness of "no culling" and proactive and reactive culling policies in a minimum of thirty "hot spot" areas.

  14.  This recommendation was made despite the conclusions of the Zucherman, Dunnet and Krebs investigations that there was substantial evidence of an association between TB infection in badgers and cattle and studies such as that undertaken at Woodchester Park which have sought to evaluate the effectiveness of badger culling.

  15.  The Krebs review recommended that a minimum of 30 10 kilometre by 10 kilometre experimental squares be selected from areas which were bovine TB hot spots, with 10 of these areas randomly assigned to a "proactive" strategy of culling of all badgers. A further ten areas were to be randomly assigned to a "reactive" strategy of badger culling if there has been TB cases which appeared to be associated with badgers. The final 10 areas would be randomly assigned to a no culling strategy, a policy which also would apply to those areas which are not part of the experimental programmes.

  16.  In its submission responding to the Government's proposals stemming from the Krebs report, the Union highlighted the fact that the proposed culling trial would, by definition, take at least five years to provide conclusive results, during which time farmers outside the trial areas would have no means of controlling an escalating badger population. Concerns over this time delay have been further exacerbated by the speed at which the culling trial is being put in place. The Krebs report recommended a minimum of 30 trial areas, whereas to date, only three random blocks in the Devon/Cornwall triplet area have actually been assigned. There is, therefore, clear evidence that the level of resource being allocated to the culling strategy is woefully inadequate to meet the time scale and objectives detailed in the Krebs report.

  17.  Evidence suggests that the incidence of TB is increasing rapidly in areas which were not previously defined as "hot spots" (eg Shropshire, Derbyshire and Gwent). The FUW is, therefore, of the opinion that a number of random squares should be selected on the fringes of areas which have witnessed a recent explosion in the number of TB incidences in order to ascertain the impact of the various culling strategies on the spread of the disease.

  18.  The Krebs report concedes that in order for the trials to be effective, no management factor should be allowed to distort the trial results. Farmers and other landowners must therefore be adequately compensated in order to ensure full participation within the experimental areas. Compensation arrangements for producers within the experimental no culling area should be, at minimum, the same as that which operated in the Woodchester Park trial, namely 125 per cent of the animal's market value. There is also distrubing evidence that Wildlife groups and private landowners may prove to be reluctant to allow the culling trials on their land, thereby calling into question the integrity of the entire culling trial.

  19.  Given the problems of trap shyness and seasonal and local variations in trapping efficiency, the Krebs report suggested that snaring should be considered as an alternative to cage trapping. In skilled hands, snares can achieve higher capture efficiency than cage traps alone. Estimate have suggested that snaring, combined with cage trapping, could achieve a 90 per cent to 100 per cent capture rate compared with up to 80 per cent for cage trapping alone. In light of this evidence, the FUW would reommend that the capture methods should include snaring, since cage trapping alone is unlikely to ensure a capture rate which maintains the integrity of the culling trial.

  20.  The FUW would also recommend that the merits of gassing be also fully explored including an analysis of the various available gassing techniques and of the time taken for the animal to reach a comatosed state.

ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EXPERIMENTAL COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT HUSBANDRY METHODS PROPOSED BY THE KREBS REPORT

  21.  The Government consultation paper, stemming from the Krebs report, confirmed that discussions would be pursued with the farming industry on establishing an experimental comparison of different husbandry methods. The paper suggested that such comparisons were likely to take place outside areas selected for the culling experiment to avoid compromising the latter. At that stage, the FUW was deeply concerned that the consultation paper implied that farmers whose husbandry practices took no account of the risk of bovine TB in their herds could suffer a reduction in compensation rates.

  22.  When considering husbandry issues, it must be borne in mind that farmers are being asked to accommodate an ever expanding badger population. M.Bovis can live up to 70 days on the ground and TB infection is, therefore, possible from areas which are impossible to fence off from farm livestock. Husbandry methods cannot involve the surrender of large areas of farmland to badger activity, since with an expanding badger population, it is impossible to achieve a situation of complete isolation.

THE GOVERNMENT'S IMPLEMENTATION OF CHANGES IN THE BOVINE TB RESEARCH AND STRATEGY PROPOSED BY KREBS

  23.  The FUW is profoundly concerned that the Krebs report identifies the development and use of a vaccine to protect cattle against TB as a priority within future research strategies. The Union cannot accept that the use of a cattle vaccine will be in the long term interests of the UK livestock industry.

  24.  Any vaccination programme should, therefore, continue to focus on the development of a vaccine to protect badgers against TB. Vaccination strategies have been phased out for diseases such as foot and mouth, and trade experience shows that a control programme based on vaccination would be likely to undermine future exports of breeding cattle from the UK. A programme of vaccination of those herds affected by TB could also lead to a situation where farms became blighted and stock rendered worthless without actually tackling the underlying casual problems of TB.

  25.  A cattle vaccination programme could only, therefore, be countenanced on the development of an effective diagnostic test capable of differentiating between infected and vaccinated animals. There must also be clear evidence which shows that UK exports would not be jeopardised through the use of such control techniques. The UK cattle industry cannot be sacrificed in a bid to sustain an ever expanding badger population.

  26.  Until such time as there is an effective strategy to control the spread of bovine TB, there must be adequate provision to ensure the management of a sustainable, healthy badger population. The protection of Badgers Act 1992 must provide a basis for licensing removal operations in circumstances where badgers are shown to be causing significant problems for the agricultural industry. Given the results of the Professor Harries' study into badger numbers, many farmers are questioning the extent to which the badger population will be allowed to grow before any control measures will be sanctioned. Questions also arise over the impact of TB on the badger population and the long term consequences for the species from TB infection.

  27.  In the light of Government's conclusion that there should be moratorium on badger culling outside those areas subject to experimental analysis, the FUW is firmly of the opinion that full direct and consequential loss compensation should be available for damage sustained through badger activity. The Union would, therefore, strongly advocate a review of compensation arrangements which takes into full account the fact that farmers are unable to take action to control TB infection by virtue of the fact that badgers are a protected species.

  28.  The formula for a temporary reallocation of quota for herds subject to movement restriction should also be re-examined with a view to providing adequate quota cover to those herds suffering TB breakdowns. The current formula is extremely complex and does not provide adequate quota cover for those who cannot move animals off their holding due to a TB restriction. The FUW believes that the formula should be subject to thorough revision, and be based on the volume of milk sold rather than the theoretical volumes and replacement rates which are currently used. The Government must therefore establish a specific milk quota reserve which would be available to all those producers who risk excess milk production due to herd movement restriction.

CONCLUSION

  The Farmers' Union of Wales is extremely concerned that current Government proposals do not take into sufficient account the impact of bovine TB on the livestock industry. The unfortunate reality of inaction will be a increasing temptation to act unilaterally to safeguard cattle herds and livelihoods. It is, therefore, imperative that a sufficiently funded control programme is put into place which seeks the early eradication of bovine TB from the British cattle herd.

20 January 1999