Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 334: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has considered alternative methods for the eradication of bovine tuberculosis other than the culling of badgers; if he recognises the cruel practice of badger culling; if funds will be focused on a national vaccination programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38850/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The badger culling strategy implemented by my Department is underpinned by research studies that demonstrate that the culling of infected badger leads to a significant reduction in the incidence of TB in 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 in 2010 were, at 20,200, the lowest recorded since the commencement of the programme in the 1950s. Reactor numbers and herd incidence have continued to fall in 2011 and it is likely that reactor numbers will fall below 20,000 this year. 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.

In order to ensure that the culling programme takes place as humanely as possible, my Department continually monitors damage and injury to badgers captured under this programme. Badgers are captured using a specifically designed stopped-body restraint by trained Farm Relief Service contractors, who are monitored and supervised by staff from my Department. The restraints used in the capture of badgers are approved under Section 34 of the 1976 Wildlife Act and are specifically designed with a 'stop' so as not to tighten beyond a predetermined point. All restraints are monitored daily and any badgers are removed within a maximum of 24 hours of capture. A condition of the licence granted is that restraints are checked before noon the next day. Peer reviewed research has shown that the existing culling arrangements and procedures result in minimal injury to badgers.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, my intention is to replace culling with a vaccination programme as soon as research demonstrates that this is a practicable proposition. With this in mind, my Department has been collaborating for some years with the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (CVERA) in UCD on research into a vaccine to control tuberculosis in badgers and to break the link of infection to cattle. Research to date has been positive and success in the various field trials currently underway will eventually lead to implementation of a vaccination strategy as part of the national TB control programme.

In summary, the badger culling strategy is a pragmatic response, based on sound science, to a complex problem. The evidence is that it has contributed to a significant reduction in the incidence of TB in the cattle population and the cost of the eradication programme. However, my Department hopes to be able to move to a vaccination programme when the research currently underway demonstrates that it is practicable to do so.