AQW 22190/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 10/09/2021
Answered On Date: 27/09/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to outline the various options he is considering to tackle bovine TB that do not involve a non-selective badger cull.

Answer:

The recent public consultation on the Department’s Proposed Implementation and Next Steps of the bTB Eradication Strategy for Northern Ireland which closed on 10 September, detailed the five feasible options which had been identified and appraised by the business case underpinning the Strategy, that could address the role of the badger population in maintenance and spread of bTB; and how the preferred option was reached.

Two of the five options do not involve a non-selective cull. These are:

Test, and Vaccinate or Remove (TVR) using baited cages as a capture method.

TVR using stopped restraints as a capture method.

Within the two TVR approaches, badgers are trapped and anaesthetised to allow a blood sample to be taken and tested for bTB. Those badgers which test positive are euthanised while those animals testing negative for the disease are vaccinated and released.

The consultation, which also contained proposals relating to a non-selective cull, provided an opportunity for me to hear views from stakeholders and the wider public. The consultation garnered over 3,400 responses which I will now carefully consider alongside all the available evidence before taking a final decision on the way forward in relation to addressing the role of the badger population in the maintenance and spread of bTB, as part of an holistic bTB Eradication Strategy.