Bovine Tuberculosis Control and Badger Culling

Olivia Blake Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Westminster Hall

[Irene Campbell]

I note the hon. Gentleman’s comments. I still disagree with what the hon. Lady said.

Bovine TB in cattle can be controlled by cattle measures alone, as predicted by the independent scientific group in 2007. Many are of the view that badgers are not the primary cause of the spread of bovine TB and that culling them is a cruel and ineffective way to tackle the disease. With all the aforementioned evidence, it is only fair to ask the Government to stop issuing new licences for culls and instead focus on non-lethal intervention.

[Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for outlining the argument so well. Badger culling has proved to be ineffective, unscientific and inhumane. Does she agree that we should not see an increase in culling or supplementary culls in no-risk areas, or the extension of any current licences?

[Irene Campbell]

I fully agree with my hon. Friend.

It is time to catch up with countries with lower rates of bovine TB and to focus on similar biosecurity measures rather than cruel culls that kill hundreds of thousands of badgers as well as hundreds of thousands of cows. We know from the bovine TB rates in England that our current strategy is not working, and that targeting animals that make up the least number of transmissions cannot be the way forward.

It is important for everyone that bovine tuberculosis is effectively tackled. Farmers and the Government are losing money, and cows and badgers are dying unnecessarily. New TB herd incidents have fallen by only 1% since the badger cull restarted in 2013, and innocent animals are continuing to die while nothing is improving. There should undoubtedly be more bovine testing, and we must consider options such as the development of the bovine vaccine and the increased roll-out of badger vaccination. In addition, there could be incentives for farmers to take part in such schemes, as well as to adopt enhanced biosecurity.

The previous Government encouraged fearmongering around the role of badgers in spreading the disease, and I encourage this Government not to make the same mistake. Farmers must be supported throughout the strategy and the transition to new methods. If the next strategy is poorly implemented, we risk calls for badger culling to return.

The Government said in response to the petition:

“Existing cull processes will be honoured to ensure clarity for farmers involved in these culls whilst new measures can be rolled out. However, the government has decided that it will not be proceeding with the proposals drawn up under the previous government relating to targeted badger culling.”

In the light of the evidence, I ask the Government to review and cancel all existing cull licences, such as those that Natural England set earlier this year. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response as to how a Labour Government will tackle bovine TB and, as a Labour MP, I urge us to follow our manifesto commitment to end the badger cull.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Dyke]

I absolutely agree: education is critical. It is also critical in allowing research to continue. Of course, that requires funding, but we also need the right capital investment in farms, so that they can carry out the herd management required to stop the transmission of bovine TB.

[Olivia Blake]

Does the hon. Lady agree that it could seem counterintuitive to the public for new testing to be illegal and to require the Secretary of State’s intervention, and for testing in herds considered not to have TB to therefore not be possible, allowing undetected cows to be left in herds?

[Sarah Dyke]

If I understand the hon. Lady correctly, she is saying that detection is important at any stage, and I agree with that. It is absolutely ludicrous that we cannot continue to test all animals in a herd.

The Liberal Democrats call on the Government to develop safe, effective, humane and evidence-based ways of controlling TB. We must invest to produce workable vaccines and surveillance measures that minimise harm to badgers and cattle. The previous Farming Minister, the hon. Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), visited Gatcombe farm alongside the current head of the National Farmers Union, and to his credit showed intent on this issue. I urge the Minister to follow in the footsteps of the hon. Member for Cambridge, and also to give an update on whether she will implement the recommendations of the Godfray report.

The UK lags behind other countries in tackling TB, with prevalence still at around 8% of cattle, despite the culling of nearly a quarter of a million badgers since 2013. We must look beyond culling and focus on testing cattle, while investing in further research into badger vaccination. I would also like data sharing to be improved, especially by providing farmers with access to their TB testing data alongside relevant supplementary tests. We must also ensure that governmental agencies such as the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the British Cattle Movement Service actually talk to each other.

British farming is at a crossroads and this Government must stand up and support our farmers. That is why the Liberal Democrats want an extra £1 billion boost to the farming budget, which would help farmers with capital investment to support herd management and biosecurity, and help break the transmission routes of tuberculosis in cattle. But trust is difficult to build, and unfortunately DEFRA is not conveying confidence to the industry. Farmers are still waiting on the next iteration of the SFI, despite promises that it would come by the end of the summer. We cannot continue to kill our way out of the TB crisis. Solutions must be found to keep our beef and dairy herds OTF. To safeguard the long-term future of British farming, industry and Government must work together to ensure that we reach the target of eliminating TB by 2038.