Badger culling why can't all cows be vaccinated?

[Twowrongsdontmakearight]

Just that really. I had a TB vaccination at school and DD was offered it as a newborn in Manchester. So does anyone know why cows can't be routinely vaccinated too. And save badgers from being killed unnecessarily.

I've heard other people ask the same question but I've never heard an answer from DEFRA!
Also, consider Dick Roper who wants more research after he managed to keep his farm clear of TB in the middle of a hotspot but seems to have been completely ignored.

Something to do with EU rules on what goes into meat for human consumption IIRC. It's probably completely harmless but rules is rules.

The only option currently available is BCG. Unfortunately it is not currently possible to distinguish between BCG-vaccinated cattle and TB-infected cattle. Scientists are trying to devise an appropriate test.

A further problem is that the evidence available suggests that vaccination on its own is not effective. BCG only has a 56%-68% success rate in cattle. You need a success rate of 80%+ to eradicate TB.

Thanks for explaining that!

And how effective is badger culling prh?
It is worth noting that 1) no single method of eradication is yet believed to be possible. 2) Culling to date has largely been ineffective, costly & badly managed. 3)The vaccination of badgers is now only being attempted by wildlife charities (with little or no govt funding) 4) the poor bloody badgers only carry the TB because of poor bio-security by cattle farmers in the past

If either effective control or eventual eradication is going to be possible then the politicians, the cattle farmers and the public need to seriously consider that fixing this problem is going to need a holistic approach where all the strategies need to be tried TOGETHER and funded equally

I was not arguing in favour of badger culling.

Vaccinating badgers also has problems. The only vaccine available has to be injected. It is therefore necessary to cage-trap badgers before vaccinating. This has to be done annually for 5 years. The Welsh Assembly is currently running a badger vaccination programme which will cost around £3,400 per vaccinated badger. It is not a cheap option and has no effect on badgers that are already infected. There is, as yet, no evidence that it is effective in reducing TB amongst cattle. An oral bait vaccine is likely to be the best option but it is unlikely one will be available before 2019.

Regarding funding, from 1991 to 2013 DEFRA spent £108M on R&D into bTB and £49M on the randomised badger culling trial.

None of the above is an argument in favour of badger culling. This appears to be a problem where there are currently no good answers available.

It is not a cheap option and has no effect on badgers that are already infected.
Agreed
Culling takes out both infected and uninfected animals and based on the last cull results is no cheaper and as yet has not proven to be any more effective in reducing BTB infections.
But both culling and vaccination of both species are significantly cheaper (and politically more popular) than compensation

This appears to be a problem where there are currently no good answers available.
Agreed
And the funding of solutions is still pitiful compared to the costs of dealing with the problems

Hang on- if we can vaccinate badgers, why can't we vaccinate cows?

Apparently there's no proof that badgers carry TB and EU rules say we can't vaccinate cows we end up eating. So we end up shooting badgers with no proof it works, and not vaccinating cows, with no proof that we can get TB from meat...circles...

if we can vaccinate badgers, why can't we vaccinate cows?

I answered that question earlier on this thread.

Apparently there's no proof that badgers carry TB

Don't know where you get that from. There is plenty of proof that badgers help to spread bovine TB.

with no proof that we can get TB from meat

It isn't just meat. We know that humans can get bovine TB from milk.

One day not too far in the future the TB deniers will win, and we'll cull all the cows and eat the badgers....yum yum.

The short answer is that the Tories like shooting things. There is loads of science discrediting the cull, but hey lets kill some wildlife.

In Wales better husbandry of stock has produced greater falls in TB rates than culling badgers. Strangely the government doesn't seem to want to consider this.

I think that you may have the Tories confused with UKIP. lol

??Ukip candidate jokes about 'shooting peasants' in racist and homophobic rant??
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ukip-candidate-jokes-about-shooting-peasants-in-racist-and-homophobic-rant-9923478.html

The short answer is that the Tories like shooting things

Rubbish. Culling took place under the previous government as well. Contrary to your statement the science is somewhat mixed. Some studies find that culling is effective, some find that it is not.

Wales would be culling badgers too but for intervention by the Court of Appeal which quashed the order authorising the cull.

Wales would be culling badgers too but for intervention by the Court of Appeal which quashed the order authorising the cull

Let's be fair here.
That was purely down to a relatively stupid error on the part of the Welsh Assembly.
They went for an order allowing culling across Wales based on evidence that related specifically to the IAPA.
That localised evidence could not and did not support a full regional cull