NORTH Pembrokeshire farmers have been ‘let down’ according to Assembly Member Paul Davies after the five year badger vaccination programme could not be completed, due to a shortage of the BCG vaccine.

The announcement by the Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans comes after the World Health Organisation called on all countries to review their BCG usage to ensure that countries with the highest human TB rates receive priority and to target individuals who will benefit most from BCG vaccination.

Mr Davies said: “The Welsh Government’s TB vaccination is a shambles and farmers in North Pembrokeshire have now been let down twice by a Government that simply doesn’t get rural Wales. Farmers deserve a far more detailed explanation from the Deputy Minister and, at the very least, more clarity on how long this ‘interruption’ will last.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales has described the situation as a ‘complete farce’, and has called for a return to a science based badger culling policy, the removal of all additional farm restrictions in the area and for what remains of the vaccination budget to be used to help north Pembrokeshire farmers.

NFU Cymru President, Stephen James said, “NFU Cymru has always questioned the appropriateness of badger vaccination as a method to deal with bTB in an area of Wales where the disease is endemic in the badger population.

Bovine TB continues to cause untold heartache and stress to cattle farmers across Wales. In the first eight months of 2015 we saw a 19% year on year increase in the number of cattle slaughtered as a result of bovine TB. Stringent cattle testing and movement controls will not eradicate this disease alone, action must be taken to remove the infection from badgers.”