The wildlife control aspect of the eradication programme incurred a cost of €7.7 million in 2023, up 20% on 2022, when around €6.4 million was spent in this area.
The programme includes a badger culling programme where they are implicated in a disease breakdown
The 2019 Programme for Government included a commitment to extend the badger vaccination programme nationwide and end badger culling as soon as possible, consistent with the best scientific and veterinary advice.
A new Irish bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy was launched in 2021. Large scale vaccination of badgers has been rolled out under the new strategy, with over 20,000 km2 covered by the vaccination programme and 6,586 badgers captured in vaccination areas in 2021.
By 2021, over 20,000 km2 in Ireland was designated a badger vaccination area; this is more than half of the total area on which the DAFM wildlife unit operates. In these areas, vaccination is the default, although culling may still be carried out where required for epidemiological reasons. In 2021, the DAFM wildlife unit captured 6,586 badgers in vaccination areas, of which 3,958 were then vaccinated (badgers captured which are found to have been previously vaccinated are not re-vaccinated), and captured 5,868 in culling areas
Areas where badger vaccination was carried out in Ireland in 2021. Yellow areas are where culling is carried out; green areas are where vaccination is carried out. A tile is an area of 2 km by 3 km which is the operational management unit for badger culling and vaccination in Ireland
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