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<p>The effects of badger vaccination by injection have been evaluated in several captive
experimental studies and during a four-year field study in Gloucestershire. Although
vaccination with BCG will not guarantee protection from infection, meaning some badgers
may still become infected, these studies provide evidence of beneficial effects. In
particular, they provide evidence that vaccination reduces the likelihood of badgers
developing lesions or excreting TB bacteria and the rate of new infections. The studies
also indicate that vaccinating more than one third of adults in a badger social group
reduces new infections in unvaccinated badger cubs. It is therefore reasonable to
assume that badger vaccination will reduce transmission from badgers to cattle.</p><p>
</p><p>Government policy has enabled farmers and landowners to apply for licences
to cull or to vaccinate badgers. In its response to the Godfray Review, the Government
has set out its ambition to move from badger culling to wider deployment of vaccination,
with culling only taking place where surveillance in badgers and cattle indicates
re-emerging or persistent infection. In areas where culling has been successfully
deployed to reduce the amount of TB infection, we are now proposing to increase deployment
of badger vaccination.</p>
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