Alison Hume

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank the 287 constituents in Scarborough and Whitby who signed the petition to call for an immediate end to badger culling. In my constituency, we are lucky to have dedicated groups of volunteers, such as the North Riding Badger Group, who are committed to the protection of badgers and their setts and habitats in the Scarborough and Whitby area. As we have heard, bovine tuberculosis is a horrible disease that has a devastating impact on cattle and farmers’ livelihoods. In the past decade, more than 230,000 badgers have been culled in efforts by the Government and farmers to control bTB. Crucially, efforts to eradicate bTB must also protect the welfare of badgers. I appreciate that the Government are working on a comprehensive new strategy to eradicate bTB, which will end the badger cull by the end of this Parliament, and I welcome Government efforts to explore alternative ways to combat bTB, such as by boosting cattle testing and developing a cattle vaccine against bTB, but can we really justify another four years of badger culling? The evidence for its impact on bTB is weak at best, and persisting with this approach not only damages public confidence, but stalls progress towards more ethical and effective alternatives. I will be grateful if my hon. Friend the Minister outlines what steps the Government are taking to accelerate the roll-out of vaccination programmes as a long-term and humane solution to bovine TB.