No-cull badger policy 'deficient'

By Pallab Ghosh BBC science correspondent

Vaccines are a "long-term solution", say MPs

The decision not to cull badgers in England to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis is flawed in the short-term, an MPs' report has said.

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee accuses the government of "playing down the seriousness of the nature of cattle TB".

Ministers decided two weeks ago against introducing a mass cull policy.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said that on balance he thought a cull was impractical and publicly unacceptable.

Instead, he said the disease should be controlled through better surveillance and biosecurity and stated there would be more money for the development of a vaccine.

The Environment Select Committee, however, has said that this response will not be "good enough" and will do little to tackle the disease in the next few years.

The MPs' report concludes that: "There is little in the government's strategy, beyond the current policy of surveillance, testing and slaughter, to tackle the disease in the short-term."

The committee recommended earlier this year that the government should adopt a multi-faceted approach to tackling the spread of TB in cattle. The committee felt that badger culling could make a contribution under certain well-defined circumstances.

Chairman Michael Jack said his committee unanimously felt that the response by Mr Benn was "less than satisfactory" and contained "deficiencies".

One example the report cites is an attempt by the government to control the disease by introducing best practice in husbandry and biosecurity. But the results of a study into best practice will not be available until early 2010.

The select committee does applaud the government for prioritising vaccine development, however it states that vaccines are a "long-term solution".

Responding to the report, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said that "the EFRA Select Committee recommended licences be issued to cull badgers only if farmers, or their agents, could satisfy government that they could meet the conditions for successful culling, as set out by the Independent Scientific Group on TB in Cattle and by the government's former Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King.

"The Secretary of State has decided the risk of making the disease worse if such stringent conditions were not met in practice is too high."

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