Natural England - Bovine TB and badger control in England

Bovine TB and badger control in England

19 January 2012

The Government has announced the two areas where it will be piloting its Badger Control policy in 2012.

What is Natural England's role?

Natural England is the licensing authority in England for licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992external link.

Defra have selected the two pilot areas, one in West Gloucestershire and the other in West Somerset. Natural England will now begin working with licence applicants in both areas to advise on the next steps of the application process.

What happens next?

In the pilot areas

We will work closely with the applicants and aim to complete the assessment of their applications in time for licensed action to commence in the autumn of 2012.

The licensing process for pilot areas is shown in this chart: (387kb)pdf document.

West Gloucestershire pilot area description

The application area is located mainly in the county of Gloucestershire. The area lies predominantly within the council districts of the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury, and parts lie within the districts of Wychavon, Malvern Hills and the south east part of the county of Herefordshire. The application area does not include the area of the public forest estate in the Statutory Forest of Dean.

West Somerset pilot area description

The application area is located in the county of Somerset. The application area predominantly lies within the council district of West Somerset and part lies within the district of Taunton Deane.

Maps and detailed descriptions of the pilot areas will not be released

Please note that for security reasons we will not publish maps of the two pilot areas, nor will we identify individual land holdings or participants. The culling of badgers is a sensitive issue and we believe that the release of this information could, by helping to identify areas where the control of badgers is proposed, impact adversely upon the protection of individuals, businesses and public or private property.

Outside the pilot areas

Further Badger Control licenses will not be available during the pilot phase.

Subject to an evaluation of the pilot phase of the project and a decision on wider roll out of the Badger Control policy, we aim to make guidance and application forms available later in the year.

The Opportunity to Comment on the pilot area badger control licence applications in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset have closed

The Opportunity to Comment on the pilot badger control licence applications in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset closed at midnight on Thursday 23 February.

Natural England have reviewed all the responses and a summary is shown below.

We would like to thank all those who took part in the Opportunity to Comment process.

If you have any further questions you can contact Natural England’s bTB helpline for licensing and general enquiries. Details of how to contact us are given below.

Summary of responses to the Opportunity to Comment process

A summary of the responses to the Opportunity to Comment process is available.

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for a licence? How many licences will be issued? Why do badgers have such strict protection? Do people need to apply for a licence to vaccinate badgers?

You can find answers to these questions and many more in the Frequently Asked Questions

Contact us

Natural England’s bTB enquiry line advisers are available to help answer any questions you may have about the licensing process. Please note that we will not be able to issue any further licences until after the two pilot culls have been evaluated and a decision has been taken on wider roll out.

Natural England’s bTB helpline for licensing and general enquiries:

Tel: 0300 060 0550 - lines are open during office hours

Post: Natural England, BM 6283, London, WC1N 3XX

Email: bTB@naturalengland.org.uk

Vaccination of Badgers

Defra Badger Vaccine Deployment Project

An injectable TB vaccine for badgers is now available and Defra is funding a project using the vaccine in an area of Gloucestershire with high bTB incidence in cattle. This trial started in summer 2010 and is planned to run for five years. The project, which is being managed by the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), aims to develop practical know-how, including how best to deploy vaccines and to meet training needs, and will inform plans for future use of both injectable and oral badger vaccines.

More information on the Defra Badger Vaccine Deployment Projectexternal link (Fera).

To contact Fera:

Badger Vaccine Deployment Project, Fera Woodchester Park Research Station, Tinkley Lane, Nympsfield, Gloucestershire, GL10 3UJ.

Telephone No: 0844 248 0073

E-mail: badgervaccine@fera.gsi.gov.uk

Vaccination of Badgers against bovine TB (not as part of the Defra Vaccine Deployment Project)

The injectable vaccination of badgers is also available, separately from the Defra project, as a licensed option to prevent the spread of bovine TB. Landowners or occupiers outside the project area who wish to vaccinate badgers will need to employ a licensed contractor to vaccinate badgers on their land. Please note that only persons who have appropriate training and experience will be licensed by Natural England to trap badgers for vaccination. Anyone wishing to vaccinate badgers on their land, or who is interested in training as a contractor, either for a specific site or to offer this as a service to others, is advised to contact Fera (see above) for further advice. When applying for a licence, the names and contact details of the Vet(s) who will be prescribing the vaccine and providing veterinary support for the field operations will need to be provided.

Applications for trapping licences should be submitted to Natural England using application form WML A01: (279kb)word document.

If you wish to contact Natural England for more information, please address enquiries to:

Post: Natural England, BM 6283, London, WC1N 3XX

Tel: 0300 060 0550

Email: bTB@naturalengland.org.uk