New figures from Defra show that outbreaks of bTB in cattle were at a decade-long low in March, at around 3.25%, the lowest figure since 2004, according to the Guardian website on 12 June. This follows another low figure in February, of around 3.5%. The figures also show a reduction in the number of cattle slaughtered because of bTB in Somerset and Gloucestershire.

These numbers demonstrate that the overall eradication strategy, including movement controls on cattle, is beginning to make a difference, which shows even more clearly that the culls being carried out in Somerset and Gloucestershire are not necessary to reducing incidence of the disease. The culls begun last year were not only inhumane, they also could not have affected these figures this quickly, animal welfare campaigners say.

The government faces fresh criticism over its culling policy in the light of these figures.

Dominic Dyer, of the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild, said: "These are pretty sensational figures and highly significant.

"There is no way that the badger culls from last year could have influenced these numbers at all, so the drop is purely because of the tighter farming controls that have come in over the last couple of years.

"If I was in the government I'd be shouting these numbers from the rooftops, but unfortunately they would rather keep quiet - because these figures don't justify a badger cull."

He suggested any farmer told that following a few rules could lead to the number of cattle being slaughtered for TB to be halved - as happened in Somerset in January to March this year, compared to the same period in 2013 - would take it.

"So let's now direct all our energy to ensuring that we repeat this success across the country, by doing what works, and not focusing on a badger cull which will achieve nothing." You can read the full article here.

Farmers Weekly reported in mid-August that the badger cull could be extended to 10 new areas this autumn, including Derbyshire, as part of government efforts to tackle bovine TB.

Natural England has received 14 applications from prospective farmer-led culling companies to kill badgers in “high risk” and “edge area” counties of England, it writes.

If the government approves 10 of these areas, as expected, it would increase the number of cull zones stretching from Cornwall to Cumbria to over 40.

The cull zones have still not been officially announced as of 8th September 2019, although preparations are known to be well under way in some areas.

A decision to extend badger culling to Derbyshire has polarised opinions. And as of this week, it is understood that despite preparations having been made to begin in the county, the cull here has been shelved.

The NFU said the reservoir of disease in wildlife was “endemic” in the county.

NFU county adviser Andrew Critchlow told Farmers Weekly: “We have been working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust on badger vaccination in the original edge area. But culling is a tool in the box. One would think that there is a need for it [culling]. It has been endemic in wildlife for a long time on the western side of Derbyshire.”

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust began vaccinating badgers on its nature reserves as an alternative to culling in 2014. It has launched a petition to urge the government not to extend the cull to the county.

Dominic Dyer, chief executive of the Badger Trust, described the government’s decision over any culling extension to Derbyshire as “difficult, very sensitive”.

“We think the whole badger cull extension is a mess. If they go into Derbyshire, we think it’s completely insane.”

Defra and the NFU say there is “anecdotal evidence” from farmers that badger culling is helping to reduce cattle TB herd breakdowns.

But Dyer insisted that there was “little evidence of a significant reduction in TB outbreaks on farms”.

A review of the government’s 25-year bovine TB strategy for England, led by population biologist Professor Charles Godfray, was published last November.

It concluded that it was a “judgement call” for ministers to decide whether the benefits of culling to the farming industry outweighed the animal welfare and environmental concerns.

Dyer said he was disgusted that Defra still had not officially responded to the findings of the report, almost 10 months after it was published.

A Defra spokesperson said a government response to the report would be published later this year.

“Bovine TB remains one of the greatest animal health threats to the UK, causing devastation for hardworking farmers and rural communities,” the spokesperson said.

“There is no single measure that will provide an easy answer to beating the disease. That is why we are pursuing a range of interventions to eradicate the disease by 2038, including tighter cattle movement controls, regular testing and vaccinations.”

Last year, 32,601 badgers were culled in 32 areas across Dorset, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset, Cheshire, Wiltshire, Staffordshire and Cumbria, under the government-backed programme.

Up to 50,000 badgers could be killed this year under the government’s cull – nearly double the number of last year and three-quarters of the total killed since the cull began six years ago, campaigners claim. The figure appears in an article by Jamie Doward in the Observer on Saturday (7 September 2019).

The increase is caused by a predicted expansion in licensed culling zones.

This week the government is expected to confirm approval of a further 10 zones in England, taking the total to 42. This comes despite the fact that data released under the Freedom of Information Act suggests incidents of bovine TB may be increasing in cull zones – which would make it difficult for the government to justify expanding the cull.

There are unconfirmed claims that, in a potential breach of the law, badgers are being killed in some of the zones before the licences have been issued.

Dominic Dyer, chief executive of the Badger Trust, has told Boris Johnson: “Your government is about to sign off on the largest destruction of a protected species in living memory – as you are aware nearly 68,000 badgers have been killed in England since 2013, in a failed attempt by the government to lower bovine TB in cattle.” He added that the expansion of the culling zones “could result in the killing of over 50,000 badgers in the next two months, pushing this protected species to the verge of local extinction in areas of Britain it has inhabited since the ice age.”

You can read the full story here.

A Staffordshire livestock keeper from Great Wyrley has been handed a 27-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months after pleading guilty to a string of animal health charges at Stafford Crown Court, according to Staffordshire Newsroom (19th August 2019).

John Sadler was sentenced after pleading guilty to offences relating to the failure to dispose of animal carcasses and failing to register cattle on his holding.

Sadler was also found guilty on counts of fraud by misrepresentation, by giving calves false dates of birth, failing to present 61 cattle for TB testing, failing to register cattle deaths on his farm and failing to produce a herd register to an inspector when requested.

In court, Sadler also received fines totalling £6,000 and was ordered to pay costs of £9,500.

Staffordshire County Council’s communities leader, Gill Heath, said:

“The vast majority of livestock keepers act responsibly and play an important part in our rural economy. Unfortunately, on rare occasions we do get cases like this and our Trading Standards and Animal Health teams will act accordingly to protect animals and legitimate businesses.”

The court also heard that when the council’s animal health officers visited Sadler’s farm in January 2018, they found the carcasses of four dead sheep and multiple bones from other dead animals that had not been disposed of correctly.

Officers also found a large number of cattle that had no identification and that were not registered as being on the farm with the British Cattle Movement Service, which is against the law.

Furthermore, Sadler could not produce either the cattle passports or the herd register for the cattle, and subsequent enquiries revealed that he had attempted to register some of the cattle but had given them a date of birth that was false and misleading.

From the visits made by the animal health officer and enquiries with regards to the TB testing undertaken at the farm, it was identified that Sadler had failed to present 61 cattle for their statutory bovine TB test and more than 50% of the herd at that time remained untested. The last time the full herd was tested for bTB was in 2013.