Huw Irranca-Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2014-03-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence his Department has collected on the effect of badger culls conducted in Ireland on levels of bovine TB in that country.
George Eustice
The number of bovine TB reactors in the Republic of Ireland fell by over 65% between 1999 and 2013, from 44,903 to 15,612. This represents the lowest level since the eradication programme started in the 1950s. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s wildlife policy statement of April 2013 concludes that it is satisfied that the culling of infected badgers, which is underpinned by research studies and sound science, has led to a significant reduction in the incidence of TB in cattle over the past decade.
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