An attempt in the Republic of Ireland to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis by culling badgers has failed, miserably. Thousands of badgers were killed in the attempt, prompted by the speculation (and very limited reasearch evidence) that badgers spread TB to cattle. The incidence of TB has increased. This is not the first time that killing off the much-loved, black-and white striped, short-legged omnivores has failed to do the job, which makes you wonder why they keep flogging such a dead horse. Could it be do to with the perceived improvements in cost-effectiveness of snaring badgers vs routine TB testing in cattle?
TB testing still happens in the UK. But did you know that during the foot and mouth epidemic a few years ago, the testing was suspended for 9 months. And guess what happened...
That's right - the badgers got sick (ref 1).
On top of that, badgers are very socially mobile creatures. Badgers in general are attracted to smaller groups (ref 2), and male badgers will head off for groups with a higher proportion of females. You can easily see how killing off part of a group increases social mobility, thus potentiating the spread of various infectious diseases
What happens, then, if you stop testing for TB and cull badgers?
That's right - you move TB infested cattle around, thus spreading TB to the local badger population. Then, by killing off a proportion of the badgers, you cause the badgers to move around, thus spreading TB amongst the badger population.
This is what happened in Ireland.
RIP, badger
J McC
(This report was commissioned by Timothy Hedgehog, who wishes to bring the plight of his woodland friends to the blogosphere)
Showing posts with label cattle movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cattle movement. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2007
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