University of Exeter expert appointed to panel examining new evidence about bovine TB

A University of Exeter expert has been appointed to a reconvened panel to examine new evidence about bovine TB.

The Godfray Panel 2025, commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,, is made up of experts who conducted the 2018 Bovine TB Strategy Review.

The work of the researchers will ensure work on a comprehensive new bovine TB strategy for England, which was announced in August, benefits from the latest science. 

The team, which includes Professor Michael Winter OBE, from the University of Exeter, will examine if there is anything that affects the conclusions made in their report. They started work last month and should report their findings by the end of June 2025.

Professor Winter, a rural policy specialist, was a member of the Expert Panel for the National Ecosystem Assessment, Defra’s Science Advisory Council, commissioner and a board member of the Commission for Rural Communities and member of the Committee of Inquiry on Hunting. He also served on the board of Natural England.

The panel is chaired by Professor Sir Charles Godfray, from the University of Oxford. Other members are Professor Glyn Hewinson, from Aberystwyth University; Professor Sir Bernard Silverman, from the University of Oxford and Professor James Wood, from the University of Cambridge.

The panel will review recent evidence and analysis published since 2018 that is relevant to bTB control in England. It will consider and advise on any new opportunities for improved application, enhancement or acceleration of the interventions set out in the 2018 Strategy Review and advise on gaps in the available evidence and disease control tools.

The review will consider all the drivers for controlling disease spread as set out in the 2018 report. The focus will be on the bTB eradication strategy for England only but may include lessons learnt from the experiences of the Devolved Administrations and from the strategies deployed by other countries.

The panel, which will not be making policy recommendations, are inviting submissions of natural and social science evidence that might not be picked up in standard literature searches. Contact bTBEngage@defra.gov.uk. The closing date is 28 February 2025.