A trial of a new vaccine against TB in badgers is to take place in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Badgers in an area extending from Bromyard to Tenbury Wells to Cleobury Mortimer to Abberley will get the vaccine.

The project is funded by Defra to assess the viability of using an injectable badger vaccine.

The area has been chosen because it has a high historical TB incidence in cattle.

The trial will start in the summer of 2010, and the badgers will be vaccinated, once a year, for five years.
Defra say the vaccine does not 'cure' already infected badgers, so it could take five years or more for a level of immunity to be reached in the badger population.

They say this is not a scientific trial of the vaccine, but they will look at routinely collected cattle TB data see if the number of incidents falls where badgers have been injected.

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