Title: How can we better manage zoonotic disease? Using an ethnography of bovine tuberculosis to confront what disease is and how it is made through practice
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: This fellowship will advance the role of social science in managing zoonotic disease outbreaks. It will achieve this by amplifying the academic and policy impacts of my PhD, which explored bovine tuberculosis (bTB) management in England. Working in the 'Life Geographies' research group will help me to develop conceptual framings in multispecies relations and rural geography. Moreover, Professors Hinchliffe's and McDonald's mentorship and networks will enable me to more effectively communicate the research to government. Together these activities will establish myself as an emergent expert on the role of the social sciences in disease management. My objectives are to: 1. Increase the policy and societal impacts of my PhD research I will develop the application of my PhD findings for policy, stakeholders and affected publics by: presenting my research to three regional bTB Eradication Advisory Groups; publishing an infographic detailing the research findings; hosting a seminar with policymakers and the 'Bovine Tuberculosis Partnership'; contributing to a review of the role of social science in disease management, led by Prof. Hinchliffe as part of the 'Scientific Advisory Committee on Exotic Diseases' ; and, writing a POSTnote to outline social science approaches to human-animal diseases. These activities will extend and strengthen networks with policymakers and stakeholders. In addition, the POSTnote and seminar will demonstrate the importance of social science to one-health policy-making. I will also undertake training in 'Media Relations' to learn how to harness the media to extend the impact of my research. 2. Develop and disseminate my PhD research I will publish five articles to establish my track record. Articles 1 and 3 are sole authored and will establish my independent research profile in zoonotic disease management. I will also present my research at RGS-IBG Annual Conference and 'The 7th International Conference on M. bovis'. In turn, these activities will develop my academic networks for future research grant applications. 3. Undertake limited supplementary research In 2020 Government extended the prospect of badger vaccination to badger cull zones. However, farmers are resistant to the change, and a research gap exists about barriers and enablers to their involvement in badger vaccination (Maye et al., 2020). I will address this gap by conducting participant-observation and interviews with: (1) Farmers in badger cull zones where I undertook my PhD research. Here, farmers are reluctant to be involved in vaccination and it therefore provides an opportunity to explore barriers to involvement. (2) National Trust farmers in Devon who are involved in badger vaccination to explore motivations and enablers for their involvement. This research will be undertaken with the Animal & Plant Health Agency, with which the University of Exeter has a long-term partnership, and The National Trust to meet their needs in rolling out vaccination. The research will further my PhD findings to better understand inhibition about vaccinating wild animals. I will use the findings to produce a policy brief and Article 5. 4. Forge a social sciences research agenda related to disease management I will use the networks developed through Objectives 1 and 2 to invite 10 academics to attend a roundtable to debate cross-cutting challenges of multispecies disease management, such as wildlife vaccination. Following the event we will publish a research agenda on multispecies diseases and social sciences. 5. Develop my academic skills and career Through these activities I will demonstrate the importance of social science in disease management, and contribute to fields of human-animal relations and rural geography. The research agenda from the roundtable will inform applications to the ESRC New Investigator Grant and Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship. In addition, I will undertake training in digital research methods.

Lay abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the increasing threat and impact of zoonotic disease, defined as those that can cross between animals and people. Whilst COVID-19 is a new example of this, people have been living with zoonotic diseases throughout evolutionary history. Therefore, what lessons can be learned from the management of existing zoonotic disease to inform the management of future ones? My PhD research explored the management of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and I will use this Fellowship to develop key outputs from my PhD on the role of social science in disease management. As with COVID-19, the management of bTB in England is high profile and contentious. Since the 1970s, controversy has developed about the role of badgers in spreading the disease to cattle and how this is managed. This controversy has intensified since 2012 when the Government licenced the shooting of badgers. Policy and research treat the controversy as a result of conflicting perspectives of the disease. My approach defamiliarises the controversy and the disease by exploring what bTB is and how it is made. Through qualitative, ethnographic research I show how policymakers, vets, wildlife groups, anti-cull activists and farmers produce different versions of the disease through practice. These versions raise difficulties and induce pain: the difficulty of defining disease risk; the antagonisms between people killing badgers and people opposing the killing of badgers; and the pain when livestock are killed for 'disease control'. Confronting how controversy arises from mismatches between versions of the disease provides opportunity to make less painful versions of bTB and to improve disease management. My research has direct implications for bTB stakeholders, and provides insights for the management of zoonotic diseases more broadly. My aim for this Fellowship is to extend my research impact into the field of zoonotic disease. To achieve this I will use this Fellowship to: 1. Increase the policy and societal impacts of my PhD research by presenting findings at regional bTB groups and publishing an open-access infographic of my research on the 'TB Knowledge Exchange' website. I will also write a policy brief (POSTnote) and host a seminar with government officials to share my findings and consider the role of social science in zoonotic disease management such as avian influenza and swine flu. 2. Develop and disseminate my PhD research by publishing five articles in academic journals, and presenting at international conferences on rural geography and bTB. This work will contribute to the fields of multispecies relations and zoonotic disease management, and develop opportunities for collaboration. 3. Undertake limited supplementary research. In 2020 there was a policy change to roll out badger vaccination in current badger cull zones. Farmer involvement in badger vaccination is vital for the policy to be rolled out, but at present there is strong resistance to the change. I will undertake research with farmers to explore barriers and enablers to their involvement in vaccination. This research has been designed with a government agency and the National Trust to ensure it meets policy needs. 4. Forge an interdisciplinary research agenda related to the management of zoonotic disease. I will bring together researchers from multiple disciplines for a roundtable to explore cross-cutting challenges related to zoonosis management. Subsequently, we will publish a research agenda about how to address these challenges through social sciences, which will inform my future funding applications. 5. Develop my academic skills and career as an academic through mentorship and training in digital research methods. To refine my teaching skills, I will deliver two guest lectures on department modules. I will also dedicate time to writing future grant applications.

Research activity codes: 3.2 INTERVENTIONS TO ALTER PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Health categories: INFECTION