By vaccinating badgers on the Notts / Leicestershire border in the Vale of Belvoir, a key dairy farming area, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is working to prevent the spread of devastating bovine TB in our area. The incidence of bovine Tb locally is low and we aim to keep it that way to protect badgers and other wildlife and to support local farming communities. 

We must raise match funding of around £32,000 over the next fours years (updated June 2018) in order to ensure that we can complete our current four year programme of badger vaccinations in the Vale of Belvoir and prevent calls for the expansion of the badger cull. Farmers are also contributing alongside the grants we receive, but public donations are vital to the success of this programme. 

Bovine TB (bTB) leads to the deaths of thousands of cows each year & has resulted in the death of a large number of badgers due to culling. We oppose culling to control bTB,  but are conscious of the hardship that bTB causes farmers. To tackle this problem the Trust is taking positive action by working with farmers to better understand the distribution of local badger populations through surveying and advising on bio-security measures to create a buffer zone on the Notts/Leics border.

June 2018 update - we now have a new Project Manager working alongside our wonderful volunteer team to survey, monitor and vaccinate local badgers to build up long-term herd immunity. By limiting the potential for local outbreaks of the disease we can help prevent any expansion of the badger cull into the project area and help protect local badgers, support local farmers and protect a cherished farming landscape which could disappear if dairy farming were to become nonviable in this area.