Government bid to make England TB-free by 2038, with vaccines for cattle and badgers
What was announced
No badgers culled due to the disease in 2026 – first year in over a decade with no culling
Key points, in the publisher's words
- The Government is winning its battle against bovine TB – with the number of new TB herd breakdowns in England down by a fifth compared to the previous 12 months and no badgers culled for the first time in over a decade.
- Progress in the fight back against the devastating disease comes as the Government (Thursday 5th November) formally adopts a long-term strategy, aimed at eradicating TB from England altogether by 2038.
- The multi-faceted approach includes the development of vaccines for cattle and badgers, mandatory blood tests, more robust wildlife surveillance and more test choice.
Figures in this announcement
Each line is quoted from the original. Figures are as the publisher stated them on the day.
- “The percentage of herds under restriction due to a TB incident at the end of June 2026 was lower in England than at the end of June 2025, 3.4% compared with 4.2%.”
- “Bovine TB statistics - GOV.UK The 12-monthly total number of cattle slaughtered for TB control reasons in England (test reactors and direct contacts) reached a historical maximum of 34,518 in 12 months ending April 2018.”
- “The latest statistics show 20,244 animals removed in the latest 12-month reporting period ending June 2026, a 4% decrease from the 21,126 animals removed in the 12 months ending June 2025”
Who and where
UK bodies of power
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK government department) · more news
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: Animal and plant health.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-bid-to-make-england-tb-free-by-2038-with-vaccines-for-cattle-and-badgers
- Published 2026-11-05 00:01:02 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-11-05 00:15:46 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 8318, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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