A major social science study to accompany the Government's Bovine TB Badger Vaccine Deployment Project (BVDP), to be launched this summer [2010], will be led by a researcher from the University of the West of England, with colleagues from the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), in collaboration with Exeter and Cardiff Universities, Drew Associates Limited, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera).
The social science study has been funded for four years in the first instance and will assess the level of farmer confidence in the use of vaccination before, during and after vaccine deployment. It will also identify motivators and barriers that could influence the future use of TB vaccines. The research is being funded with a grant of just over £630,000 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Bovine TB is a complex animal disease affecting farmed cattle and badgers. The disease can seriously affect the livelihood of farmers, both in terms of the economics of livestock production and increased stress levels brought about by TB testing and the potential farm business impacts the disease might have. In England, vaccination of either cattle and/or wildlife is an important long-term policy to help reduce the impact of bovine TB. Defra is funding a project to vaccinate badgers against bovine TB. The aim of the BVDP is to vaccinate badgers in six different locations with high incidence of bovine TB. Farms representing an equivalent of 100km2 will be recruited in each area. The areas chosen for the vaccination project are in Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Devon.