We are over run with badgers in our area yet as far as I know there is no TB in Scotland, might be wrong. why is it just the badgers and not deer, foxes, etc that carry TB or do they ?
There have been a couple of small outbreaks to date but without the badger reservoir it doesnt keep reinfecting herds.
Deer can and do carry TB. However they are less prone to depositing saliva etc on cattle troughs or coming into such close (even nose to nose) contact spreading it to farm animals. Fallow deer are more susceptible than other deer species as they are quite gregarious. They may not be so long lived as badgers and they certainly dont shed the virus as generously.
One of the main issues with badgers is that they are particularly efficient at shedding the virus and yet at the same time particularly good at living a long time with the disease, although they will eventually die a slow and painful death from it. And their extended social groups means the disease will spread through the sett and then further afield once sick badgers are excluded.
Foxes can also catch it as can dogs and cats. But they dont appear to be a significant vector in transmission to other species, - tho more research would be useful.
One species that is very susceptible to TB and for which the skin test used for cattle doesnt work are camelids (llamas and alpacas). The lack of any movement testing etc for these species is a big concern since 53 alpaca and llama herds had been confirmed with bTB in Britain up to September 2011, including at least one with 400+ animals slaughtered. Their spitting habits and close relationship with owners means that they if infected present a real risk of human transmission - it has already happened to an alpaca keeper.
The low incidence in Scotland is probably down to fewer and lower density badgers overall (even if there are pockets with a lot), there are none in many of the main cattle areas (they like deciduous woodland and soft pasture for setts not thin soil and granite!), possibly more (unobserved) DIY control of wandering badgers (no evidence for this, just think the remoteness of much of the country would make that possible given that a lot of people have guns), more wary wildlife hence less close contact with livestock, less cross border long distance cattle movements (altho cattle caused flare ups tend to die out once the carriers have been culled, you dont tend to get the reinfections you get in badger areas). But in the end, the explosion in badger numbers and spread of high densities across the UK will mean that much of the UK will eventually be in the parlous state that the south and west are currently (Scotlands climate and geology may protect it in many but not all areas).
Topic: panorama - badger cull (Read 6233 times)
