Badger Ecology, Bovine Tuberculosis, and Population Management: Lessons from the Island of Ireland

Authors

Andrew W. Byrne, One Health Scientific Support Unit, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, National Disease Control Centre (NDCC), Agriculture House, Dublin 2, Ireland
Adrian Allen, Veterinary Science Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Stoney Road Stormont, Belfast BT43SD, Northern, Ireland
Simone Ciuti, Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Eamonn Gormley, School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
David J. Kelly, Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Nikki J. Marks, School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS), Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
Nicola M. Marples, Department of Zoology, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Fraser Menzies, Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, Belfast, UK
Ian Montgomery, School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS), Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
Chris Newman, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13 5QL, UK
Maria O’Hagan, Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, Belfast, UK
Neil Reid, School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS), Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
David M. Scantlebury, School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Global Food Security (IGFS), Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
Peter Stuart, Department of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Munster Technological University, Clash V92 CX88 Tralee, Kerry, IrelandFollow
Ming-shan Tsai, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13 5QL, UK

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2313-8849

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Disciplines

Biology | Life Sciences

Publication Details

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 2024, 8875146. Copyright © 2024 Andrew W. Byrne et al.

Abstract

The European badger, Meles meles, is an important wildlife host for Mycobacterium bovis and contributes to the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle in several countries. The control of zoonotic diseases, such as bTB, is a central component of global One-Health strategies. Such strategies are complicated by human–wildlife conflicts, particularly where wildlife reservoirs are legally protected. The contrasting objectives of disease management and wildlife conservation, therefore, can require significant investment in research to support evidence-based policies. In Britain and Ireland, for example, badgers are a legally protected species but are also subject to lethal control and vaccination for disease management. In this paper, we review recent (2012–2022) advances in research on this wildlife host on the island of Ireland, which is used to underpin national policies and identify research gaps. In recent years, significant advances in estimating key parameters related to badger management and population dynamics have been made, including estimating population abundance at varying scales (local, landscape, and national). Advances in tracking technology, integrated with mark-recapture and modelling tools, have provided significant insights into the movement ecology of badgers and their interactions with cattle. The adaptation of genetic technologies has improved our understanding of the transmission dynamics of M. bovis among different hosts. As a disease management strategy, the culling of badgers to control bTB has reduced badger densities significantly, although this is not considered a sustainable sole long-term solution to the problem of spillback infection. The recent development of vaccination strategies presents an additional approach to control the disease in wild populations. These types of interventions will require significant applied research to ensure they are sustainable and to maximise benefits. It is also expected that focused research efforts will improve human–wildlife coexistence in the context of the broader One-Health strategy.

Recommended Citation

Byrne, Andrew W., Allen, Adrian, Ciuti, Simone, Gormley, Eamonn, Kelly, David J., Marks, Nikki J., Marples, Nicola M., Menzies, Fraser, Montgomery, Ian, Newman, Chris, O’Hagan, Maria, Reid, Neil, Scantlebury, David M., Stuart, Peter, Tsai, Ming-shan, Badger Ecology, Bovine Tuberculosis, and Population Management: Lessons from the Island of Ireland, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 2024, 8875146, 18 pages, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/8875146