The Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme: information for landowners
Find out what happens if you allow a badger vaccination campaign to vaccinate animals on your land.
The Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) is part of the government’s strategy to eradicate bovine TB from England. The scheme aims to prevent the spread of bovine TB in cattle by preventing the infection of badgers (which can spread TB to cattle).
The scheme provides funding to contribute to the cost of vaccinating badgers in the ‘Edge Area’ of England with the BadgerBGC vaccine.
You can check if your land falls within the Edge Area by reading the complete list of parishes in the Edge Area.
How landowners are affected by BEVS
If you own land in the Edge Area, a BEVS vaccination campaign may ask if they can vaccinate badgers on your land. It’s up to you whether you allow the campaign access to your land. By doing so you may reduce your herd’s risk of badger-related TB infection and contribute to preventing the spread of bovine TB in your locality.
Under BEVS, vaccination campaigns are expected to last 4 years. A campaign requires the following each year:
- a detailed survey to identify badger setts and levels of badger activity
- a repeat survey to check for any changes immediately before trapping
- careful positioning and baiting of traps close to active setts
- setting of traps for vaccination
- vaccination of trapped badgers
- removal, disinfection and redeployment of equipment
Vaccination under BEVS will be carried out by local groups or partnerships. To get funding from government, the scheme requires that applicants show their campaigns are likely to be effective.
Only veterinary surgeons or trained individuals with a licence from Natural England and certificate of competence from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories (AHVLA) will be able to carry out trapping and vaccination.
No government support will be given to vaccination campaigns until land access agreements have been signed with landowners.
Defra has produced a model land access agreement in consultation with the National Farmers’ Union and the CLA, which requires vaccination campaigns to indemnify landowners in respect of any aspect of the vaccination campaign.
Contact the TB team at Defra if you would like to see a copy of the model land access agreement.
Last updated 1 October 2014 + show all updates
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AHVLA documents have been re-assigned to the new Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
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First published.