Defra admits that only half of £20m TB vaccine funding is new money

On Monday, the Defra Secretary told Parliament he intended to ‘increase significantly our spending on vaccines by putting £20m into them over the next three years'.

However, when questioned how much of this was new money, Defra admitted that £10.4m was for ‘vaccines research already contracted to take forward, during 2008-11'. This was for projects on which Defra had already spent £18m over the last 10 years.

Only £9.6m is 'funding to be put into further new vaccines work' during 2008-11.

From 2011-2014 a further £15m is anticipated to be spent on vaccines research to develop fully licensed vaccines, a Defra spokeswoman said.

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), which had identified the discrepancy, expressed ‘dismay' that it was hailed as a ‘significant' spending package but represented ‘little new funding'.

RABDF chairman Lyndon Edwards is also sceptical about the chances of the Government delivering a successful vaccination policy in the foreseeable future.

“The Minister also confirmed that an oral badger vaccine would not be available until 2014, and while research for an injectable cattle vaccine is underway, its earliest likely launch date is 2015,” he said.

He warned that if current bTB trends continue, well over 400,000 cattle could be slaughtered each year because of bTB by 2015.

“In the meantime, Government will have to overturn current EU legislation that prohibits cattle vaccination. We also beg the question, who is going to pay for and administer these vaccines, in particular that for badgers.”

“Bovine TB research is likely to continue to remain in Government research institutes because it has very, very limited appeal for commercial take up; its marketplace is confined to relatively very small numbers and restricted within the UK,” he said.

“Issue of Defra's proposed responsibility and cost sharing policies will not go away,” he added.

“We fail to see how dairy farmers will be able to participate when continued burdens are being placed on them and further increases in movement restrictions are only going to increase costs.”