Badgers are the major wildlife vector of bTB in the UK.
Other countries have their own vectors (NZ - Possums and feral ferrets, the latter fellow mustelids). Deer play a very minor, if any role in the spead of the disease to cattle. There is so much ******** talked about this subject, but other countries have identified and gone a long way to solving the problem years ago. New Zealand and Ireland in particular. The powers at be may wish to decide on how this problem will be dealt with but no reasonable person who has studied the evidence can doubt the science behind the link.
Think back to when TB was a major killer in humans, it spread between people in damp tenament buildings in overcrowded conditions. These conditions are replicated perfectly in setts. One infected badger entering an infected sett will potentially infect all the others. The tubercle bacteria can then persist of a year or so in that sett once it has been cleared of the last animal. Culling of a badger population may not be sufficent if the sett can not be kept depopulated for at least this period. We are of course all waiting for an effective oral vaccine. It would be a relatively easy exercise to give to all badgers in an area given their ready acceptance of baits such as peanut butter.
In Ireland as previous mentioned they have an effective seek and destroy on badgers on setts on and around bTB infected farms. Local farmers are visited. Setts identified and animals caught by cage trap or snare, most of which are autopsied. Land owners have the right to refuse entry to allow culling. though most do not as they feel for their neighbours who have their cattle herds locked up. In NZ there have been mass arial poisoning of possums with 1080, the other extreme, and not to be advocated - though it does show that control of the vector population has a real effect on the disease levels in domestic stock.
Just as the role of the badger in bTB spread is underplayed there seems to be general overplaying of the role of deer in disease spead. Scientists generally consider wild deer to be end hosts in the disease. They get TB and are indicators of disease in the environment but don't really pass it on to other animals, particularly cattle. There would of couse be a small amount of deer to deer spread from mutual grooming and deer to badger spread if infected carcases are scavenged upon. Infected badgers are a different matter, the bacteria in the badger has a predeliction for the kidney and infected animals urinate large numbers of bacteria onto pasture where they can infect cattle. Also cattle, being inquisitive animals will sniff and lick dead and dying badgers.
Deer to deer spread of bTB is greatly increased if animal are concentrated for winter feeding.
Other countries have their own vectors (NZ - Possums and feral ferrets, the latter fellow mustelids). Deer play a very minor, if any role in the spead of the disease to cattle. There is so much ******** talked about this subject, but other countries have identified and gone a long way to solving the problem years ago. New Zealand and Ireland in particular. The powers at be may wish to decide on how this problem will be dealt with but no reasonable person who has studied the evidence can doubt the science behind the link.
Think back to when TB was a major killer in humans, it spread between people in damp tenament buildings in overcrowded conditions. These conditions are replicated perfectly in setts. One infected badger entering an infected sett will potentially infect all the others. The tubercle bacteria can then persist of a year or so in that sett once it has been cleared of the last animal. Culling of a badger population may not be sufficent if the sett can not be kept depopulated for at least this period. We are of course all waiting for an effective oral vaccine. It would be a relatively easy exercise to give to all badgers in an area given their ready acceptance of baits such as peanut butter.
In Ireland as previous mentioned they have an effective seek and destroy on badgers on setts on and around bTB infected farms. Local farmers are visited. Setts identified and animals caught by cage trap or snare, most of which are autopsied. Land owners have the right to refuse entry to allow culling. though most do not as they feel for their neighbours who have their cattle herds locked up. In NZ there have been mass arial poisoning of possums with 1080, the other extreme, and not to be advocated - though it does show that control of the vector population has a real effect on the disease levels in domestic stock.
Just as the role of the badger in bTB spread is underplayed there seems to be general overplaying of the role of deer in disease spead. Scientists generally consider wild deer to be end hosts in the disease. They get TB and are indicators of disease in the environment but don't really pass it on to other animals, particularly cattle. There would of couse be a small amount of deer to deer spread from mutual grooming and deer to badger spread if infected carcases are scavenged upon. Infected badgers are a different matter, the bacteria in the badger has a predeliction for the kidney and infected animals urinate large numbers of bacteria onto pasture where they can infect cattle. Also cattle, being inquisitive animals will sniff and lick dead and dying badgers.
Deer to deer spread of bTB is greatly increased if animal are concentrated for winter feeding.
Anton
