COMPELLING CASE AGAINST BADGER CULL

11:00 - 24 June 2008
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I continue to be baffled why farmers, politicians and indeed yourselves continue to call for a badger cull when the recent research programme by the Independent Research Group into Cattle TB, commissioned by the Government, came to clear and unambiguous conclusion against such a cull.

The 289-page report, published on June 18, 2007 after 10 years of research and involving the culling of over 11,000 badgers, is an exhaustive piece of work to wade through.But in a covering letter to David Miliband, then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the chairman of the Independent Research Group, Professor John Bourne, reached two key conclusions. I quote directly from the letter: 1. That badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain. 2. Weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection.

Since the report was published farmers' leaders, vets and politicians have been pouring scorn on it and still calling for a badger cull. This is probably partly due to the statement on Page 15, paragraph 13, of the IRG report that said: "It is unfortunate that agricultural and veterinary leaders continue to believe, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that the main approach to cattle TB control must involve some form of badger population control."

I have unearthed two interesting facts concerning bovine TB that I believe are worthy of consideration;

 One of our local farmers told me he was concerned at the way the reactive test is carried out by Defra vets. It would appear that the reactor is injected into the neck of each animal using a syringe that contains 10 to 15 "shots". This means the same needle is used for a number of animals before it is discarded for a new one. It seems the knowledge concerning the dangers of used and shared hypodermics has yet to filter down to the veterinary professions.

But perhaps the most compelling piece of evidence against a cull comes from a recent holiday I had on the Isle of Man. While there I contacted the farming correspondent of the Isle of Man Examiner, Mr Harvey Briggs, to confirm a story about bovine TB I had recently heard. Mr Briggs has been farming on the island since the 1930s and has been farming correspondent for the newspaper for over 50 years. He told me that in 1956 they managed to eradicate TB from all 1,000 herds on the island - the first country in Europe to do so. However, within 10 years it had reoccurred and they have been fighting it ever since. Interestingly, though, many farmers do not blame the badger for their TB - they would have a job, as there are no badgers on the Isle of Man; they are not a native species there. Perhaps those calling for a badger cull could explain that one to me?

Keith Baud
Stoke Gabriel