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Contact usHome Wildlife Wildlife ecology and management Badger vaccine deployment project Project description Email to a friend
Project description
What, where and how
The Badger Vaccine Deployment Project is a flexible and practical project to deploy a TB vaccine to badgers in six areas in England. The project is being funded by Defra to assess the viability of using an injectable badger vaccine and to provide knowledge that will help us as we move towards the long-term goal of an oral badger vaccine.
Where badgers will be vaccinated
Six catchment areas of around 75,000 acres (300km2) have been selected based on high historical TB incidence in cattle and from within each area up to 25,000 acres (100km2) of cattle land will be vaccinated.
Who will vaccinate badgers
Vaccination will be carried out by trained and accredited contractors. Defra will have overall responsibility but Fera will manage the project until vaccination has been phased in across the six areas, and will train the contractors. Anyone trapping badgers for vaccination will be licensed to do so by Natural England.
How badgers will be vaccinated
Once farmers have registered to take part, Fera will survey the farmland during the winter to identify badger setts. Trapping and vaccination of badgers will then take place from early summer when new cubs emerge, and continue until the autumn. Vaccination will be carried out once a year at any given sett.
Traps will be placed at either the badger setts or on very obvious badger runs from setts where access is not possible. Traps will be pre-baited without setting them for up to ten nights to encourage badgers to readily go into them. The traps will then be set on two or more nights and the badgers trapped, injected with vaccine, and released. This will be repeated each year.
How long vaccination will be carried out for
Vaccination will be carried out for five years in each area. The vaccine does not 'cure' already infected badgers. Therefore, given that badgers commonly reach three to five years of age, it may take five years or more for a level of immunity to be reached in the badger population that will translate into a reduction in cattle herd breakdowns.