Badger vaccination against bovine tuberculosis is an alternative to culling that reduces TB transmission without the welfare costs and perturbation effects of lethal control.
Culling involves the welfare cost of shooting, sometimes with poor shot placement causing wounding. Cage trapping for vaccination involves capture stress but is not lethal. Perturbation following culling disrupts badger social groups and increases ranging, potentially increasing TB spread. Vaccination avoids these welfare costs while achieving comparable disease reduction over time.