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A big investment in vaccines to tackle Bovine TB was announced by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn today as he said that Government policy was that licences should not be issued to allow badger culling.

Mr Benn announced that £20 million will be invested over the next three years in developing usable cattle and badger vaccines.

Mr Benn said that the decision was based on a wide range of evidence, including discussions with farming, veterinary, wildlife and conservation groups; the conclusions of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG); and the EFRA Select Committee Report.

NFU President Peter Kendall has warned a negative decision from the Secretary of State on culling badgers as part of a TB control strategy would be completely devastating to farming families and their businesses.

"Current speculation on a negative decision on badger culling remains just that, speculation, based on a leaked report", said Mr Kendall. "However, in the event the Secretary of State's decision on tackling bovine TB does not include measures for badgers, it is clear this would be a devastating decision for farmers and their families, for their businesses and for the wider rural communities in areas which have been ravaged by TB.

"Last year saw 28,000 cattle culled with TB, and already in the first quarter of 2008 another 13,500 cattle have been lost. This sort of needless waste of productive animals is unacceptable and calls into question the Government's attitude not only to food security but also to animal welfare.

"A negative decision on badger culling would condemn not only tens of thousands more cattle to death, but also thousands of badgers in areas currently free of TB. It would be nothing short of a disaster."

Mr Kendall said the NFU would seek immediate legal advice to challenge any negative ruling in the courts. He also warned that wider discussions with Government on cost and responsibility sharing on animal disease would be untenable, faced with what could only be described as an abdication of responsibility on the issue of TB.

"Alongside any legal challenge, we will also be holding an industry demonstration and lobby of MPs next Tuesday, to drive home the message that any strategy to tackle TB has to take into account the wildlife reservoirs of that disease. Such important decisions, which affect thousands of farming families around the country, cannot be left to the whim of opinion polls but need clear, objective thinking based on scientific fact," said Mr Kendall.

The Tenant Farmers Association has condemned the Government's refusal to tackle the problem as a snub to hard-working farm families who will be devastated by the Government's lack of concern for their future.

TFA National Chairman, Greg Bliss said "The decision not to tackle the problem of TB in badgers appears to have been made as a spineless attempt to stop an unpopular Government's ratings from declining further in the eyes of the public. However, in so doing, this Government, as in so many other ways, has turned its back on hard-working families. I represent those in the farming community who do not own the land they farm or the houses they live in. Their livelihood is tied up in their livestock and it seems to us that the Government cares not a jot if they lose this livelihood because they lose their animals to TB".

Ten years ago the Government launched a major scientific study looking at the contribution of infected badgers to the spread of bovine TB and how they might be controlled as part of an eradication strategy for the disease. The industry's co-operation with this scientific study, known as the Kreb's trial, was secured on the basis that the Government would implement a strategy based on the conclusions of that study. The Kreb's trial has concluded that infected badgers are a significant contributor to the spread of bovine TB and that this contribution can be significantly diminished through a widespread, long term and intensive cull of infected badgers.

"The message from the scientific research is unpalatable but it cannot be ignored. The farming community wants healthy badgers and healthy cattle and therefore we cannot allow the disease of TB to remain endemic in our countryside. We elect governments to make difficult decisions based on sound science. On this occasion, the Government is simply covering its own back by ducking the issue," said Mr Bliss.

"At this year's Royal show, Hilary Benn made a short address at a reception organised by the Farming Help charities. He said he was grateful for the work of the charities and their volunteers in the help and support that they provide to hard-pressed farm families. It is ironic therefore that he should make an announcement today which will see the workload of those charities multiply with the increase in the financial and emotional stress that he has caused," said Mr Bliss.

5:42pm Monday 7th July 2008

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