Written question asked by Duke of Montrose (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Monday, 1 October 2007.

Badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in prioritising their wildlife health strategy, they will take note of the need for the development of a polymerase chain reaction test that can identify the presence of tuberculosis pathogens in badger setts.

Answer: In relation to the bovine tuberculosis programme, we have already noted the need to develop a rapid and reliable test for the detection of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) infection in infected cattle tissues, and samples from live badgers and the environment. Defra has been funding work using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique to develop tests for M. bovis since 1999. Over the next three years £1.3 million will be invested in work using the PCR technique to develop a test that will allow us to differentiate between M. bovis and similar species of mycobacterium from environmental samples. While it may be possible to identify areas, such as badger setts, where the organism is present we would not know whether the DNA detected was from M. bovis mycobacteria that were viable and infectious or whether individual animals were infected.

Secondary information