Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
12 October 2011
Badger vaccine project generates 'delight'
The UK's first independent badger vaccination project has proved that the technique is "viable and affordable", according to the charity running it.
The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust vaccinated 35 badgers during the summer against the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.
The government wants to fight cattle TB in England through culling, but animal groups see vaccination as preferable.
The trial did not look for any impact on disease in badgers or cattle.
Instead, the idea was to see how feasible it would be to train staff and vaccinate the animals, and how much it might cost.
"We are delighted with the results (which prove) that there is an affordable alternative to the proposed cull," said Gordon McGlone, the trust's chief executive.
"Bovine TB is a big problem, but local culling of one of our much-loved native animals is not the answer.
"Scientists have spent the last 12 years investigating whether killing badgers will halt this serious disease in cattle, and the answer they are getting is that it could well make the problem worse."
Read more - BBCnews
Badger vaccine project generates 'delight'
The UK's first independent badger vaccination project has proved that the technique is "viable and affordable", according to the charity running it.
The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust vaccinated 35 badgers during the summer against the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.
The government wants to fight cattle TB in England through culling, but animal groups see vaccination as preferable.
The trial did not look for any impact on disease in badgers or cattle.
Instead, the idea was to see how feasible it would be to train staff and vaccinate the animals, and how much it might cost.
"We are delighted with the results (which prove) that there is an affordable alternative to the proposed cull," said Gordon McGlone, the trust's chief executive.
"Bovine TB is a big problem, but local culling of one of our much-loved native animals is not the answer.
"Scientists have spent the last 12 years investigating whether killing badgers will halt this serious disease in cattle, and the answer they are getting is that it could well make the problem worse."
Read more - BBCnews