Cornwall's farmers have helped more than 250 badgers to be vaccinated against Bovine TB (bTB) across the county this year - the most successful season to date.

The Cornwall badger vaccination programme has grown as more farmers and landowners come forward to use the bTB control method as an alternative to culling. 

A new area of vaccination has been started around the River Cober near Helston, adding to established vaccination programmes in Penwith and mid-Cornwall, including several Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserves.

Badger vaccination is being carried out in a bid to reduce the spread of bTB in cattle, a disease which has had a huge impact on livestock farmers in the region.

Scientists from ZSL have taken samples from most of the badgers caught to monitor bTB infection in the population over time as the vaccination work progresses.

The expectation is that vaccination will reduce bTB in badger populations and have a knock-on, beneficial effect on bTB in cattle.

The farmer-led mid-Cornwall project, which has been running for four years, has delivered over 200 badger vaccinations in total across an area of approximately 20 square kilometres.

Around 20 farmers in St Stephen, near St Austell, have been involved in the scheme set up by Cornwall Wildlife Trust with ZSL in 2019.

Emma Ead, a dairy farmer involved in the mid-Cornwall badger vaccination project, said: “I felt a lot of pressure to sign up to the cull – I didn’t know we had a choice to go down the vaccination route until a group of us got together and met with Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

“For us, this disease is like a nightmare that never ends. Fortunately, the vaccinations appear to be working and we want to continue with them.

"We’re particularly interested in the blood tests results, which will hopefully tell us more about the health of the badgers we have here on site.

"The vaccinations have definitely been a worthwhile investment for our family farm.”

Last year, badger vaccinations started in the Cober catchment area for the first time. A total of 36 farms and smallholdings have taken part so far, with volunteers from Cornwall Wildlife Trust helping farmers to position and pre-bait traps for the ZSL team.

Stuart Coleman, farm advisor for Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: “We’ve now got a significant cluster of holdings onboard, and ZSL are getting really good numbers of badgers vaccinated and blood-tested.

"All the badgers that were caught in the Cober area in the first year tested negative for bTB, which is great news and it means they now should be bTB free for life!"

Badgers, including cubs, are vaccinated each year as part of a four-year vaccination programme.

The black and white-striped animals generally live for between three and five years, meaning the number of vaccinated individuals will build up over time, leading to a healthy, new population, whilst any infected badgers will naturally die out.

ZSL vaccinators currently vaccinate badgers on 10 per cent of Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserves. The Trust would like to continue and expand this crucial work.

If you are a farmer or landowner that is interested in learning more about badger vaccination, contact the Trust at farm.ecology.advice@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk