Badger culling needs to be extended over a 'sufficiently large area' if bovine TB is to be tackled, a leading vet has told Welsh Assembly's Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee.
Dr Neil Paton, who is president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) in Wales, said culling needed to be carried out over at least 150 sq km bordered by rivers or roads which would stop badgers fleeing.
He told the committee: "What makes a cull effective is sufficient number of badgers killed in sufficient time over a sufficiently large area. There is 50% cattle-to-cattle transmission, I’m not going to argue with that number, but where that originates from is typically from introduction from another source, and some of that source is wildlife.
"Once one cow is infected within a herd, then it spreads potentially rapidly. So unless you’ve dealt with the wildlife as part of your overall control strategy, then you are not going to get eradication.
Responding to Dr Paton's comments, shadow Welsh rural affairs secretary, Paul Davies AM said Labour's failure to put the necessary measures in place to tackle the scourge of bovine TB continues to have a huge impact on rural communities.
"To date, the action taken has not gone far enough in eradicating this awful disease and we hope this latest intervention by Dr Neil Paton is given serious consideration by the Welsh Government.
"There is a clear requirement for a more holistic approach and the Welsh Government’s strategy should include all the tools at its disposal to ensure we eliminate Bovine TB in both our cattle and wildlife population."
'Test and cull'
Last month it was announced that a badger 'test-and-cull' type approach to tackling TB will be considered by the Welsh government, however many are concerned at the implications of splitting Wales into TB zones, according to the Farmers' Union of Wales.
The proposals, announced as part of a TB eradication programme consultation launched by Cabinet Secretary Lesley Griffiths include splitting Wales into five regions – one ‘low TB’ area, two ‘intermediate TB’ areas and two ‘high TB’ areas, with differing approaches to eradication in each area.
"The proposal to split Wales into zones based upon TB levels will be welcome by some, and opposed by others, and we will be responding to these once we have consulted our membership," said FUW President Glyn Roberts who was speaking at the Senedd in Cardiff shortly after the Cabinet Secretary's announcement.
"Targeting infected badgers would be a welcome move, but it is disappointing that it has taken so many years to move back towards common sense after the original comprehensive plan to tackle the disease in wildlife was abandoned by the previous Welsh Government."
