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A study conducted across 34 farms in a TB hotspot area of Co Down that used remote cameras to track movements of cattle and badgers has shown that they do visit the same locations, although not at the same time.
In the study, published in Ecology and Evolution, cameras were set up at the entrance to a cattle shed, feed store and at a field water trough, as well as a badger sett, latrine and an active badger run.
Analysis of results showed that no instances were recorded of badgers interacting directly with cattle, and no evidence was obtained that badgers came into farmyards seeking food. Instead, any contact was indirect in the field, with badgers spotted at cattle troughs, and cattle seen around badger setts and latrines. In fact, cattle were 3.3 times more likely to be observed at a badger sett/latrine, than a badger at a cattle trough, and in practice badgers seemed to avoid bovines, both when cattle are housed, and when out grazing.
That led the authors to conclude that fencing off badger setts, and raising drinking troughs would be low-tech solutions that could potentially limit the likelihood of interspecies transmission of bovine TB.
The study was conducted by Emma Campbell as part of her PHD studies, and co-authored by scientists and vets from DAERA, AFBI and Queens University Belfast.
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