Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the evidence there is to show that badgers spread TB; the research that has been carried out in relation to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39054/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is considerable evidence that badgers are responsible for the spread of bovine TB and that their removal results in a reduction in the incidence of the disease in cattle. I would refer the Deputy to a paper entitled Mycobacterium bovis Infection in the Eurasian Badger (Meles Meles): the Disease. Pathogenesis, Epidemiology and Control which was published in Science Direct earlier this year. This paper summarises the evidence on the role of badgers in the spread of TB in cattle both in Ireland and the UK and concludes that "the ability to eradicate badgers is severely constrained while infection continues to be spread from badgers".

In Ireland, the first major research project took place in East Offaly between 1989 and 1995. Badgers were removed from an area of 528 square kilometres and the change in the incidence of TB was compared with data from a reference area surrounding the removal area. The risk of herd breakdowns in the removal area was significantly reduced, the risk of a TB breakdown in a herd being 14 times higher in the control area compared with the removal area. The next significant study was conducted from 1997 to 2002 in four different areas of the country. This study, known as the Four Area Project, involved the intensive and proactive removal of badgers in four "removal" areas and "reactive" culling of badgers in matched reference areas. The published results of this project demonstrated that there was a significant reduction in TB levels in cattle following the removal of badgers. In particular, the total number of herd restrictions in the removal areas for the study period was almost 60% lower than in the pre study period. In addition, in County Laois, targeted badger removal between 1989 and 2005 was shown to have a significant beneficial impact on the risk of future breakdowns (Olea-Popelka et al 2009).

In view of this research, the Bovine TB eradication programme implemented by my Department contains a comprehensive wildlife strategy in order to limit the spread of TB from badgers to cattle. My Department is satisfied that this strategy has contributed to a reduction in the incidence of TB over the past number of years and, accordingly, to a significant reduction in the cost of the programme to the taxpayer. Herd incidence has fallen from 7.5% in 2000 to 4.6% last year and reactor numbers will be under 20,000 this year, the lowest recorded since the commencement of the programme in the 1950s. The enhancement of the badger culling strategy has been the only significant change in my Department's approach to TB eradication over the past 10 years.

As I have indicated previously, it is my intention is to replace culling with a vaccination programme as soon as on-going research demonstrates that this is a practicable proposition.