Wildlife Programme

The wildlife programme focuses on controlling the spread of tuberculosis from cattle to badgers, from badger to badgers and also from badgers to cattle. Since badgers can carry and transmit Tuberculosis, the programme includes both vaccination and culling strategies.

In areas where there is a high incidence of TB, badgers are captured and removed. Badgers are humanely culled to reduce the risk to cattle. In areas that have been converted to vaccination, healthy badgers are vaccinated against Tuberculosis to help build immunity in the population and reduce the need for culling overtime. Our approach aims to balance the protection of wildlife and safeguard cattle herds, ultimately helping to eradicate bovine Tuberculosis in Ireland.

You can access the system and upload photographs and locations through the link below. The system can be accessed through a mobile device or a personal computer.

Badger Notification Portal

The bacterium that causes bovine Tuberculosis spreads from cattle to badgers and badgers to cattle. The Department is striving to interrupt this spread by expanding its badger vaccination programme across the country.

As with all vaccination programmes, population penetration is key to its success. Knowledge of badger setts is crucial to the programme.

The Department has location data of some 47,000 badger setts but there are many more unknown setts scattered across the country. This system will allow farmers to assist the Department in locating these setts and extend the vaccination programme.

Badgers are a protected species under the Irish Wildlife Act and the capture of badgers under the wildlife programme is subject to licence from the National Parks and Wildlife Service. The vaccination programme will protect badgers and cattle from the devastating effects of bovine Tuberculosis.