Update

Firstly, we would like to thank you for your continued support to the programme. We are hugely indebted to the community of Gower, the many organisations and individuals, and, in particular, members of the farmers working group for their enduring support in ensuring the continued roll out of vaccination.

We were in a strong financial position at the start of 2020, with sufficient funds promised from private sources that would enable us to complete the remaining three years of the vaccination rollout. But the financial challenges we and many others face following COVID-19 are considerable. We are determined to ensure the project does not fail as we believe it is of immense importance in the battle against bovine TB on the Gower and across Wales. There is no other badger vaccination project that enjoys the support of so many farmers, landowners and the rural community. We have therefore battled through 2020 to ensure that we vaccinated as many badgers as we could within the available budget

Due to the lack of funding, it has been frustrating not to have been able to vaccinate all areas to date, in particular those land holdings and farms where the owner has signed to join the programme. Our ambition is to cover the whole of Gower in 2021, subject to raising enough funds for the additional four rounds of vaccination that would be needed. Despite the challenges we continue with the drive to raise funds and we urge you to contribute. Every little bit helps. A number of farmers and other landowners have been making voluntary contributions. For example, a £100 donation by 100 landowners would generate £10,000 which would be doubled to £20,000 after government match funding. This would go a long way toward ensuring the whole of Gower is covered this year. Donations can be made via the website: https://www.gowerproject.co.uk or you can contact us by emailing info@gowerproject.co.uk

Staff started 2021 field work on 19th April, doing land survey work before commencing trapping and vaccination tasks on 3rd of May (earliest possible date).