THE vaccination of badgers in an area of north Pembrokeshire rife with TB is “not a viable or sustainable policy option” according to farm leaders who urge the Welsh government to opt for a cull.

The plea comes as new figures show a 27% hike in bovine TB-infected cattle slaughtered last year.

Figures released by Defra show that 8,103 cattle were slaughtered as a result of the disease in Wales in 2015 compared to the removal of 6,378 TB-infected cattle in 2014.

Ahead of the Welsh National Assembly elections on May 5th, farming unions are calling on the main political parties to set out their TB eradication strategies.

In its 28-page election manifesto, NFU Cymru says farmers are playing their part in tackling TB through cattle-based movements, but the reservoir of infection that exists in wildlife “has not been confronted”.

Pembrokeshire dairy farmer and NFU Cymru president Stephen James says the union has consistently raised concerns about the cost and effectiveness of the government’s badger vaccination policy in the Intensive Action Area (IAA) in north Pembrokeshire.

He says a TB wildlife strategy based solely on the vaccination of badgers is not a viable or sustainable policy option.

Mr James insists that no politician or political party can “hide behind badger vaccination as their sole policy for dealing with the reservoir of disease in wildlife in areas where it is endemic.’’

He is calling on the next government to introduce a TB eradication strategy that “actively removes the disease from the badger population as well as from cattle”.

“Since 2008 over 68,000 cattle in Wales have been slaughtered because of this disease – despite the fact that Welsh farmers have adhered to stringent movement and cattle controls,’’ says Mr James.

“This disease continues to cause untold heartache and stress to cattle farmers across Wales and places enormous emotional and financial strain on farming families.”

Farmers’ Union of Wales senior policy officer Hazel Wright says farmers are doing their bit to control the disease and accept that cattle that represent a risk need to be destroyed.

“Welsh ministers need to recognise that other animals which represent a risk should also be controlled, and that to avoid the issue will simply make matters worse in the long run,’’ she says.

The Welsh government insists its TB strategy is working. It says the latest TB statistics continue to show an improving situation across Wales over the past six years.

“While there has been an increase in the number of cattle slaughtered in Wales in the latest period, the number of new TB incidents in the same period has decreased,’’ says a government spokesperson.

“The increased number of reactors identified is in part due to the increased intensity of testing in breakdown herds. This approach is aimed at identifying and removing infected cattle as early as possible, and increased numbers of reactors is to be expected.”