Bovine tuberculosis causes welfare problems for both cattle and badgers, and its control programs involve difficult ethical trade-offs between animal welfare and disease management.
Bovine tuberculosis creates a genuine welfare dilemma. Cattle testing positive are culled - often animals that would have lived years longer and shown no clinical disease. Badgers culled as part of control programs suffer the direct welfare consequences of culling, while research suggests culled badgers' territories may be recolonized by infected badgers from outside, potentially worsening disease spread (the perturbation effect). The suffering of the control program may exceed that which it prevents. Badger vaccination is a welfare-superior alternative that protects both badger populations and, evidence suggests, reduces cattle herd breakdowns. Investment in cattle vaccines (currently in regulatory development) offers the most promising long-term solution.