Labour could halt the badger cull, but only by adopting a Covid-19-style focus on testing and vaccination, according to a government-commissioned report.
The review, led by Sir Charles Godfray, warns that ministers have only a “small chance” of eradicating bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in England by 2038 without more investment. bTB, which spreads between badgers and cattle, costs taxpayers and farmers around £150m a year, and over 210,000 badgers have been culled since 2013.
Godfray said badgers can transmit the disease to cattle, but culling is not the only option. The report recommends non-lethal controls, including microchipping cattle to track movements and scaling up vaccination for both cattle and badgers. “Vaccination is a realistic way to stop bovine TB in badgers, but considerable work will have to be done to scale it up,” he said, noting lessons from the Covid-19 response.
Scientists behind the report highlighted underinvestment in Defra, APHA, and local authorities, warning that early spending could save money in the long term. Prof James Wood of Cambridge University said more advanced cattle testing and vaccines could reduce transmission, particularly in large herds.
Farming minister Daniel Zeichner welcomed the report, citing a record year of badger vaccinations in 2024 and plans for a new vaccinator field force. He confirmed ongoing research into a cattle vaccine and said a full strategy to eradicate bTB by 2038 will be published early next year.
