‘Farmers have waited long enough!’ – DUP MP demands action on bovine TB and backs targeted badger cull

DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart

Friday 09 October 2026

DUP MP Carla Lockhart has called on Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir to act on new research into bovine tuberculosis (bTB), warning that farmers cannot continue to shoulder the financial and emotional burden of a disease which has affected Northern Ireland's cattle industry for decades.

The Upper Bann MP has welcomed an independent evidence review by AgriSearch examining DAERA’s proposed wildlife intervention options, arguing that its findings should help shape a more effective and accurately costed strategy for tackling the disease.

Ms Lockhart, the DUP’s Agriculture spokesperson, has also confirmed her support for non-selective badger culling in targeted areas, alongside cattle controls and improved farm biosecurity.

Financial burden on farming families

Highlighting the scale of the problem, Ms Lockhart said bovine TB cost the public purse an estimated £60 million in 2024/25, with expenditure continuing to rise.

She also pointed to research published by The Andersons Centre in April, funded by the Ulster Farmers’ Union, Livestock and Meat Commission and Dairy Council NI, which estimated the indirect costs of the disease at £96.1 million.

Those costs reflect the wider impact of bTB on farms, including lost income, movement restrictions, additional testing, housing and feeding expenses, and the loss of valuable cattle genetics.

Ms Lockhart said:

“For far too long DAERA has failed to properly account for the environmental costs and the enormous financial burden carried by individual herd owners.

“Farmers are losing cattle, losing income, losing valuable genetics and spending huge sums dealing with movement restrictions, testing, housing, feeding and the wider consequences of herd breakdowns. The Andersons Centre values the indirect costs at £96.1m.”

She also acknowledged the mental and emotional toll that repeated herd breakdowns can have on farming families.

Call for DAERA to adopt new evidence

The MP described AgriSearch’s assessment as an important contribution to the debate over how Northern Ireland should tackle bovine TB, particularly as DAERA considers different approaches to managing infection in wildlife.

She said:

“AgriSearch deserves considerable credit for producing this detailed and independent assessment of the evidence, which follows on from the UFU, LMC and Dairy Council NI-funded report unveiled by The Andersons Centre in April this year.

“DAERA should be adopting this information unless it’s officials have alternative, proven figures which can demonstrate that the true cost of bovine TB is much greater than they initially anticipated.”

Ms Lockhart argued that existing disease controls had failed to deliver sufficient progress despite decades of cattle testing and the removal of infected animals.

“Bovine TB has been raging across Northern Ireland for more than six decades. It is very obvious that the Department’s current approach is not delivering meaningful progress. We have been testing and removing infected cattle for decades, yet the disease reservoir remains firmly entrenched.”

Badger population estimates questioned

A central part of Ms Lockhart’s argument concerns the number of badgers living in areas affected by bovine TB and the implications for the cost and effectiveness of wildlife interventions.

She claimed DAERA had substantially underestimated Northern Ireland’s badger population and highlighted research being undertaken by Professor Jaimie Dick and his team at Queen’s University Belfast.

The researchers have been using thermal binoculars and drones to monitor badger setts at night, with findings cited by Ms Lockhart suggesting that some TB hotspot areas may contain between 12 and 18 badgers per square kilometre.

She argued that higher population densities could make interventions involving trapping, testing and vaccination considerably more expensive than previously anticipated.

“Badger density matters enormously when assessing the likely effectiveness and cost of any intervention. If the population is significantly larger than DAERA has assumed, then the costs associated with Test, Vaccinate and Remove (TVR) strategy, or the vaccination-only option, will be considerably higher, while delivering very limited gains in terms of reducing disease in cattle.”

The population estimates and their implications for intervention costs remain matters requiring assessment alongside the wider scientific evidence.

Support for targeted badger culling

DAERA’s wildlife intervention consultation has considered three broad approaches to addressing bovine TB in badgers: non-selective culling, Test, Vaccinate and Remove (TVR), and vaccination without culling.

The options raise important questions about disease control, animal welfare, conservation, effectiveness and the use of public money. Their comparative benefits and risks remain subject to scientific and policy assessment.

Ms Lockhart confirmed that she had submitted a consultation response supporting non-selective culling in targeted areas as part of a wider disease eradication strategy.

“I have responded to DAERA’s wildlife intervention consultation, making it very clear that I support non-selective culling in targeted areas as part of a comprehensive strategy to tackle bTB.

“There is evidence from elsewhere that targeted, affordable and non-selective badger culling can deliver a significant reduction in TB within cattle populations over a relatively short timeframe. If Minister Muir is serious about controlling and ultimately eradicating this disease, he cannot continue to ignore the wildlife reservoir.”

She also questioned the effectiveness of previous wildlife intervention trials, arguing that public expenditure must be linked to demonstrable improvements in disease control.

“We have already seen two previous trials which generated very little proven benefit to the cattle population. We cannot keep spending millions of pounds of public money on measures which fail to address the fundamental problem.

“We need to use every tool in the box. That means effective cattle controls, improved biosecurity and addressing the wildlife reservoir.”

Pressure for a new disease control strategy

Ms Lockhart maintained that wildlife management must form part of any comprehensive effort to reduce bovine TB, while recognising the complexity of controlling the disease.

She pointed to approaches adopted internationally, although the effectiveness of wildlife culling depends on factors including local disease patterns, animal populations and how interventions are implemented.

“Other countries have undertaken conservation culls to manage wildlife populations and have achieved very low or zero reported incidence of bovine TB. The principle is straightforward: if we can reduce badger density then it should reduce the disease reservoir to a manageable level.

“We already know that Bovine TB is a complex disease, but the uncertainty surrounding it is no excuse for continued inaction.”

The DUP MP concluded with a direct appeal to the Agriculture Minister to consider the latest evidence when deciding how Northern Ireland should proceed.

“Farmers have waited long enough! The status quo is not working. We need a properly evidenced, accurately costed and measured programme which tackles the disease at every level.

“Eradication will not be achieved until DAERA addresses badger density and reduces the infection reservoir within wildlife. The AgriSearch review, alongside The Andersons Centre work, gives DAERA an important evidence base from which to make that decision. This valuable research simply cannot be dismissed. Minister Muir and his Department need to act now.”

The intervention options now present DAERA with decisions about how to balance disease reduction, scientific evidence, wildlife welfare and public expenditure. For farming families facing continued testing, restrictions and the risk of further herd breakdowns, the central question is whether the eventual strategy will deliver measurable reductions in infection and the costs associated with it.