Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has funded the development of tests for finding TB infection in badger faeces since 2015.

Prior to 2015, Defra funded development of a DNA based test for finding TB infection in badger faeces and funded a trial to compare several tests that had potential to find TB infection in badger faeces. None of the tests met the specifications required to be a useful tool in delivery of the TB strategy. Since 2015, Defra has not directly supported development of any new tests, but is interested in any tests that are developed and have potential, and will work with industry and academia to enable validation of such tests.