The political economy of bovine tuberculosis in Great Britain

A brief history of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and its control in Great Britain (GB) is presented. Numerous diverse policies to control the disease in humans, cattle and wildlife have been pursued over the last 100 years and many millions of pounds have been spent. After notable success in reducing the incidence and prevalence of bTB in cattle in GB from the 1950s to the mid-1980s, the geographical spread of the disease and the number of cattle slaughtered have increased continually since that time, with a high point of bTB incidence in 2008. This increase appeared to coincide with changing policy regarding the control of the disease in badgers, with a more humane approach adopted and with strengthened protection for badgers through legislation. Indeed, there has been much controversy in the debate on the role of badgers in disease transmission to cattle and the need for their control as vectors of the disease. The issue has attracted the attention of the media and there have been various commissioned research projects, trials and public consultations. The findings of two social science investigations presented as examples showed that citizens generally believed that bTB in cattle is an important issue that needs to be tackled, but objected to badgers being killed, whilst cattle farmers were willing to pay around £17/animal/year for a bTB cattle vaccine. It is noted that successes regarding the control of bTB in other countries have combined both cattle and wildlife controls and involved industry working in close partnership with government.