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Effect of culling on individual badger Meles meles behaviour: Potential implications for bovine tuberculosis transmission.

ABSTRACT: Culling wildlife as a form of disease management can have unexpected and sometimes counterproductive outcomes. In the UK, badgers Meles meles are culled in efforts to reduce badger-to-cattle transmission of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB). However, culling has previously been associated with both increased and decreased incidence of M. bovis infection in cattle.The adverse effects of culling have been linked to cull-induced changes in badger ranging, but such changes are not well-documented at the individual level. Using GPS-collars, we characterized individual badger behaviour within an area subjected to widespread industry-led culling, comparing it with the same area before culling and with three unculled areas.Culling was associated with a 61% increase (95% CI 27%-103%) in monthly home range size, a 39% increase (95% CI 28%-51%) in nightly maximum distance from the sett, and a 17% increase (95% CI 11%-24%) in displacement between successive GPS-collar locations recorded at 20-min intervals. Despite travelling further, we found a 91.2 min (95% CI 67.1-115.3 min) reduction in the nightly activity time of individual badgers associated with culling. These changes became apparent while culls were ongoing and persisted after culling ended.Expanded ranging in culled areas was associated with individual badgers visiting 45% (95% CI 15%-80%) more fields each month, suggesting that surviving individuals had the opportunity to contact more cattle. Moreover, surviving badgers showed a 19.9-fold increase (95% CI 10.8-36.4-fold increase) in the odds of trespassing into neighbouring group territories, increasing opportunities for intergroup contact.Synthesis and applications. Badger culling was associated with behavioural changes among surviving badgers which potentially increased opportunities for both badger-to-badger and badger-to-cattle transmission of Mycobacterium bovis. Furthermore, by reducing the time badgers spent active, culling may have reduced badgers' accessibility to shooters, potentially undermining subsequent population control efforts. Our results specifically illustrate the challenges posed by badger behaviour to cull-based TB control strategies and furthermore, they highlight the negative impacts culling can have on integrated disease control strategies.

SUBMITTER: Ham C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8447922 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:: We provide a temporal overview (from 2012 to 2018) of the outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) in the cattle and badger populations in a hot-spot in Asturias (Atlantic Spain). We also study the badger's spatial ecology from an epidemiological perspective in order to describe hazardous behavior in relation to TB transmission between cattle and badgers. Culture and single intradermal tuberculin test (SITT) were available for cattle as part of the National Program for the Eradication of TB. A field survey was also carried out in order to determine the paddocks and buildings used by each farm, and the information obtained was stored by using geographic information systems. Moreover, eighty-three badgers were submitted for necropsy and subsequent bacteriological studies. Ten badgers were also tracked, using global positioning system (GPS) collars. The prevalence of TB in cattle herds in the hot-spot increased from 2.2% in 2012 to 20% in 2016; it then declined to 0.0% in 2018. In contrast, the TB prevalence in badgers increased notably (from 5.55% in 2012-2015 to 10.64% in 2016-2018). Both cattle and badgers shared the same strain of Mycobacterium bovis. The collared badgers preferred paddocks used by TB-positive herds in spring and summer (when they were more active). The males occupied larger home ranges than the females (Khr95: males 149.78 ± 25.84 ha and females 73.37 ± 22.91 ha; Kcr50: males 29.83 ± 5.69 ha and females 13.59 ± 5.00 ha), and the home ranges were smaller in autumn and winter than in summer. The averages of the index of daily and maximum distances traveled by badgers were 1.88 ± (SD) 1.20 km and 1.99 ± 0.71 km, respectively. One of them presented a dispersive behavior with a maximum range of 18.3 km. The most preferred habitat was apple orchards in all seasons, with the exception of winter, in which they preferred pastures. Land uses and landscape structure, which have been linked with certain livestock-management practices, provide a scenario of great potential for badger-cattle interactions, thus enhancing the importance of the badgers' ecology, which could potentially transmit TB back to cattle in the future.

Project description:Bovine tuberculosis is endemic in cattle herds in Great Britain, with a substantial economic impact. A reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis within the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) population is thought to have hindered disease control. Cattle herd incidents, termed breakdowns, that are either 'prolonged' (lasting ? 240 days) or 'recurrent' (with another breakdown within a specified time period) may be important foci for onward spread of infection. They drain veterinary resources and can be demoralising for farmers. Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) data were re-analysed to examine the effects of two culling strategies on breakdown prolongation and recurrence, during and after culling, using a Bayesian hierarchical model. Separate effect estimates were obtained for the 'core' trial areas (where culling occurred) and the 'buffer' zones (up to 2 km outside of the core areas). For breakdowns that started during the culling period, 'reactive' (localised) culling was associated with marginally increased odds of prolongation, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.7 (95% credible interval [CI] 1.1-2.4) within the core areas. This effect was not present after the culling ceased. There was no notable effect of 'proactive' culling on prolongation. In contrast, reactive culling had no effect on breakdown recurrence, though there was evidence of a reduced risk of recurrence in proactive core areas during the culling period (ORs and 95% CIs: 0.82 (0.64-1.0) and 0.69 (0.54-0.86) for 24- and 36-month recurrence respectively). Again these effects were not present after the culling ceased. There seemed to be no effect of culling on breakdown prolongation or recurrence in the buffer zones. These results suggest that the RBCT badger culling strategies are unlikely to reduce either the prolongation or recurrence of breakdowns in the long term, and that reactive strategies (such as employed during the RBCT) are, if anything, likely to impact detrimentally on breakdown persistence.

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Effect of culling on individual badger Meles meles behaviour: Potential implications for bovine tuberculosis transmission.

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