What is it?

• Vaccine against bovine tuberculosis for badgers
• Known as the Badger BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin)
• Commercially available in 2010, but only available as injection

This video shows how badgers are vaccinated.

Pros?

• Do not need to euthanize any wildlife
• Can reduce risk of bTB-positive badgers, and decrease spread across badger social groups
• Herd immunity, where enough individuals are protected from bTB by vaccination to prevent entire group from being infected

Cons?

• Expensive!!
• Need to live cage-trap badgers and check cages every morning (labour-intensive)
• Need to give booster annually for min. 5 years
• Does not cure infected animals
• More effective in younger badgers, which are more likely to be hidden in badger setts

Costs?

• Estimated over 5 years = £3,365 per vaccinated badger