Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to secure adequate supplies of anti-TB vaccine for use on badgers, in view of the present shortage.

The ongoing shortage of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, and the need to prioritise available stocks for humans, is impacting on supply for badger vaccination projects. Following advice from Public Health England (PHE) in December 2015, Defra took the decision to suspend attempts to source BCG vaccine for the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme and other private badger vaccination deployment projects in England until this situation is resolved.

We are seeking regular updates from PHE about the vaccine shortage so that once the situation is resolved we can be in a position to re-start ordering of vaccine at the earliest opportunity.