Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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979. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of badgers culled in each of the years 2015 to 2017 and to date in 2018, nationally and by county in tabular form; the number tested for TB; the percentage that tested positive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36034/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The numbers of badgers culled annually are published as part of the Annual Report of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and I attach for the Deputy’s convenience the figures for 2015 and 2016 extracted from those Annual Reports – tables 1 and 2 below. While the figures for 2017 are not yet published, I am in a position to attach the, as yet unconfirmed, figures for 2017 – table 3 - on the basis that they are subject to finalisation in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Numbers are not yet available in respect of 2018 as these are normally prepared towards the end of each year in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Samples from culled badgers are not routinely cultured for TB, as previous studies have shown that the levels of TB in badgers is high when the TB prevalence in cattle locally is high. Similarly, when local bovine TB levels are lower, the levels of TB in badgers is lower. Tissues from badgers are tested for TB when required for specific studies, and the details of such tests carried out by my Department’s Regional Veterinary Laboratories and the Irish Diagnostic Laboratory Services are provided in tables 4 and 5 below.

The Deputy should be aware that under current operating protocols, where herds are identified with a serious outbreak of bovine tuberculosis, and where my Department’s epidemiological investigations into the cause of the breakdown implicates badgers as a possible source, a capturing program is set up in the local area. The aims of the program are to manage the local population of badgers downward to an average level of 0.5 badgers per Km²which is the optimal density that mitigates badger to cattle transmission.An annual culling effort is managed to ensure these lower density levels are maintained. The long-term culling of badgers is not ideal or sustainable. They are protected by national legislation and are listed within the Berne Convention. Therefore, they are captured under a licence granted to my Department by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Field trials testing the effectiveness of badger vaccination as an alternative to removal confirmed that vaccination of badgers can play a role in reducing the level of infection in cattle. From January 2018 the formal vaccination programme commenced in the areas which formed part of the field trials, i.e. in parts of counties Monaghan, Longford, Galway, Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny, Cork and in all of Louth. Badgers in a vaccination area will be captured/vaccinated/released instead of being captured/culled. The vaccination program will continue on an annual basis, so each year’s births in vaccination areas will be vaccinated as they are captured. The vaccination area will be expanded incrementally to all parts of the country during the 2018-2022 period and it is anticipated that the rate of badger removal will reduce over that period. In areas with severe TB outbreaks epidemiologically linked to badgers, some level of badger removals may still continue to be necessary, but the overall level of removals is likely to be significantly reduced.

Table 1 - Badgers Captured per RVO area: 2015

Table 2 - Badgers Captured per RVO area: 2016

Table 3 - Badgers Captured per Regional Veterinary Office area: 2017

Table 4 - Badgers Tissue Analysis at Regional Veterinary Laboratory

Table 5 - Badger Culture Analysis - Irish Diagnostic Laboratory Services (IDLS)