Born Free responds to new Bovine TB Strategy for England - Born Free

The UK Government’s new strategy shifts emphasis to cattle, but leaves the door open for further wildlife persecution.

Born Free is welcoming elements of the Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) Strategy for England, published today (10 June 2026) by the government’s Bovine TB Partnership Steering Group. However, we remain concerned that the continued focus on wildlife risks sending out the wrong signals and undermining efforts to control the disease.

Following the recent cancellation of the last badger culling licence in England, the new strategy has an increased emphasis on cattle-to-cattle transmission as the primary driver of bTB spread among cattle, and also contains proposed improvements in cattle-based measures. These include long-overdue action to introduce cattle vaccination, and efforts to identify hidden infection within herds resulting from the limitations of current testing methods.

Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free, said: “After over a decade of badger culling, which has devastated badger populations with no clear evidence of any disease control benefit, we are pleased to finally see the shift in emphasis towards cattle-to-cattle transmission being the main driver of bovine TB spread, and the need to focus on cattle-based measures if the disease is to be brought under control. We are particularly pleased to see the emphasis on introducing cattle vaccination, which successive governments have dragged their feet on for far too long, and on improving detection of hidden infection in herds.”

However, Born Free has serious concerns about the strategy’s continued focus on wildlife, particularly badgers. Despite acknowledging that most infections occur between cattle, the strategy still frames badgers as a disease risk and leaves open the possibility of lethal control in “exceptional circumstances”.