7 Sept 2026
A new report has warned more needs to be done to monitor the impact of vaccination programmes and allow greater veterinary and farmer input into control measures.
Allister Webb
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Image: PBarlowArt via Pixabay
Significant knowledge gaps are limiting the impact of badger vaccination on bTB levels in Wales, scientists have warned.
A new policy paper published today, 7 September, has argued more needs to be done to monitor the impact of vaccination programmes and involve both vets and farmers in the development of control measures.
The document, compiled by academics from the universities of Aberystwyth and Cardiff alongside the British Ecological Society’s Welsh Policy Group, argued its recommendations would help policymakers in their continuing fight against the disease.
Group vice-chair Niall McKeown said: “What Wales needs now is not simply more vaccination, but vaccination that is better targeted, measured and evaluated.”
He argued that evidence for the effectiveness of current badger vaccination projects on bTB level in cattle was “limited” and the technique could not eradicate the disease alone.
The document calls for methods including sett surveys, camera trapping, GPS tracking and genetic analysis to be used to improve understanding of badger populations and vaccination coverage.
It also recommends fresh research to examine cattle disease levels in areas of high and low vaccination coverage, plus improved communications with farmers and vets.
Dr McKeown, who is also a lecturer at Aberystwyth, said evidence from the new research should be linked to longer term data on cattle disease outcomes.
He added: “Together with genuine co-design involving farmers and veterinarians, this would allow Wales to distinguish inadequate delivery from a genuinely limited intervention effect and demonstrate, rather than assume, the contribution that badger vaccination can make to the wider bTB eradication programme.”
The document is likely to raise further questions about the role of badger vaccination in combatting bTB amid enduring policy arguments across the border in England.
A pro-badger campaigner argued the inclusion of badger vaccination in the UK Government’s latest plans to tackle the disease published in June risked implying they posed a problem without appropriate evidence.