Derbyshire Wildlife Trust are ensuring badgers in the county are vaccinated against Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in a bid to convince the Government that vaccination is far more effective and ethical than the badger cull.  

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and their dedicated team of over 100 volunteers work with partners including the National Trust and Derbyshire Badger Groups together with farmers and landowners. Six new vaccinators have been trained taking the total to 15, dedicated, vaccinators working on the programme.

Tim Birch, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Head of Living Landscapes North said, “All the hard work is paying off.  Here in Derbyshire we are proving that vaccination is effective in the fight against Bovine tuberculosis and as a result we want to see vaccination rolled out across the UK rather than the cull. We have over 100 volunteers helping us deliver our vaccination programme with many more wanting to join and help us which is fantastic. We want to see our model of volunteer led vaccination, supported by the Government, rolled out across the country instead of shooting badgers.”

Vaccinations will continue throughout the autumn and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is keen to hear from any landowners who would like them to vaccinate badgers on their land.

It costs almost 20 times less to vaccinate badgers rather than shoot them so it makes financial sense. Culling badgers can also cause bTB to increase in an area according to scientific studies in what is known as the perturbation effect. Also vaccinating badgers is receiving strong public support and does not require any police to ensure it takes place compared to the cull.