The CLA today responded to the National Trust’s announcement that a four- year badger vaccination programme will take place on an estate in Devon to help tackle the spread of bovine TB.
CLA President William Worsley said: "Nobody disputes the scale of bovine TB, so it is fantastic that a major landowner like the National Trust accepts that badgers are the main factor and is looking into solutions.
"However, vaccination is not a complete solution. The science still has some way to go and as the figures produced by the National Trust show, the costs involved are high and out of reach for ordinary working farmers.
"While it is true that no country has eradicated TB by culling alone, nowhere has eradicated it without any culling at all."