Should Badgers be Culled?
What do you think of the bovine TB crisis, and the alleged role of the badger in its 'spread'?
Are the farmers suffering most as the controversy continues?
UPDATE APRIL 2008:
An effort to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle in Wales incorporating a
"targeted cull" of badgers was announced. The Welsh Assembly Government's plan includes a one-off test of all cattle and a review of the compensation system.
Wales' chief veterinary officer said bovine TB was out of control and the current policy was not working. But conservationists have urged the Welsh Assembly Government to reject the proposal, saying badgers are being wrongly victimised.
What's your verdict? Join the debate and Have Your Say - email us or fill in this pop-up form.
Jon from Goring Heath says:
"I'm struggling to gain access on the full reports of studies carried out so far. However, I work alongside an organic beef farmer and to his knowledge, there has never been a reported case of bovine TB on an organic farm. As Bill from Llanelli says below, good husbandry and less overcrowding seem to yield far better results than any sort of cull could have. The badger sets in the woods near the farm where I work are hundreds, if not thousands of years old. The continued persecution of these creatures would lead to an irreversible travesty!"
B. Hickling from York says:
"Animals in the wild are disease free and typically only when the greed of man intervenes do we get problems. One - Salmonella in chickens, two - BSE in cattle and now Bovine TB in badgers. MAFF DEFRA and future renamed government officialdums should send in unbiased teams before slaughtering millions of innocent creatures."
Di from Swansea says:
"It would appear from all your views that bovine T.B has no conclusive evidence to support that badgers carry this disease."
Bill from Llanelli says:
"There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that links the badger with TB. It seems that the government has caved into the farming lobby and its prejudices. Don't get me wrong, I come from a farming family myself, 500 acres, but this is just plain wrong. Better animal husbandry and less overcrowding is the answer on farms, rather than blaming the badger. It may result in the misplaced anger of farmers being cooled for a time, but when the badgers are gone yet TB still remains in their herd what will be the solution then?"
Diane of Cardigan says:
"I was speaking to the senior partner of the biggest vets in our town and he said that in his practice there were 11 vets working constantly to eradicate TB and that they were fighting a losing battle. His major comment was that badgers were the carriers and there had been over recent years a huge increase in their numbers owing to the cessation of badger baiting and new laws introduced to protect the badger from acts of barbarity. The increase in the badger population has also increased the number of cases of Bovine TB."
S M Charles of Haverfordwest says:
"I feel saddened when I read the anti-farmer approach to this subject. Our farm is of the highest standard supplying milk to a specialised cheese outlet, yet, we have reactors, no lesions apparent on culling. Over the winter months when cattle housed no reactors. As soon as turned out to grass: reactors. There is sufficient evidence to show a link between badgers and TB. New Labour are pandering to ARG's who gave them a one million donation before coming into power in 1997. Why don't these people care about bovines as they do about badgers? Also, foxes are also carriers but to a lesser extent."
Mike from Swansea says:
"It seems that we are all agreeing on this topic of badger culling as no evidence has come to light that badgers are responsible for bovine flu. Read what Ron from Colorado Springs has to say 'marvel' at our wildlife."
Jane says:
"Until there is strong overwhelming evidence of badgers spreading TB then I am totally against any cull whatsever."
Val has this to say on the topic:
"Badgers are the scapegoats for those poor farmers, who do not practice biosecurity. I challenge DEFRA to give us proof of the TB badger link."
Val from Ruthin says this:
"Biosecurity is the answer to this problem. It is time for farmers to look to themselves to eradicate T.B."
Peter from Ross-On-Wye says we've become obsessed with badgers:
"The killing of thousands of badgers over the last 30 years, or more has failed to stop the spread of bovine TB in cattle, and there is no proven link between badgers and the spread of the disease in cattle. A lot of the farming community are obsessed with badgers, based, it seems, largely on folklore and it is about time they started to look a bit closer to home in order to combat this disease."
"There is now strong evidence that cattle to cattle transmission of bovine TB is the major source of the disease. To avoid further spread of the disease requires the introduction of tighter movement restrictions on cattle from infected areas and for farmers to properly quarantine stock and TB test them before movement. These types of actions would be far more positive than the randomised killing of badgers, that goes on now. I would fully support the payment of compensation to farmers who might initially lose out through the introduction of these measures but strongly believe compensation should only be payable when farmers can demonstate compliance with strict health and hygiene standards. Conversely farmers failing to comply with high cattle health standards should be penalised."
Wayne from Beckenham has this to say:
"It is essential that we learn to acknowledge the intrinsic value of all native wildlife. Once this is truly acknowledged, it will become obvious that any cull of such wildlife cannot be ethically justified."
Malcolm from Horton calls on us to stop blaming badgers for the spread of TB:
"The latest science (recently released by the government) shows that badgers are not to blame for the spread of TB. Research is now to concentrate on modern intensive farming methods which have been found to be a much more likely cause. Stop blaming badgers. There is no scientific proof to justify the link."
Sue Crookes from Derbyshire wants an end to confrontation and asks if current proposals will make any difference:
"I belong to the local badger group and I know a lot of farmers think it's an 'us and them' situation. This is so far removed from the truth. We feel for the farmers as well. In fact some of our members are from the farming fraternity. My brother is also a farmer. It's a pity that both farmers and badger groups cannot get together and put pressure on the government to listen.""Badgers are being culled even though there is no scientific research to prove that it is the badger that is the cause. Culling was carried out years ago and yet TB is still a problem. The government needs to listen and realise that if they kill all badgers in one area, all that will happen is that others will move in.
"It's a stupid trial, using taxpayers' money and I don't need a crystal ball to see at the end of the trial period, the problem will still be present."
Ian James from Brighton thinks improved livestock management and vaccines are the way forward:
"Badgers get TB from cattle, by looking for worms around cattle droppings. I have yet to see a cow looking for grass around badger dung pits, so how are badgers supposed to pass TB to cattle?
"Wake up farmers! It's your own sloppy livestock management which passes TB from cow to cow and from cow to badger.""Stop scapegoating badgers. Improve livestock management. Develop an effective TB vaccine for cattle and for badgers."
Gee from Port Talbot is not convinced culling has worked in the past:
"Tens of thousands of badgers were killed in the first culling (and research) program some decades ago. MAFFs' findings: no conculsive link found for spreading TB to cattle, and the incidence of TB in cattle actually increased in the period."
Stella from Kington alledges that farmers might see profit as more important than wildlife:
"Badgers should not be culled, they are still being used by farmers and the farming unions as a scapegoat for fundamentally serious problems within the agricultural industry to do with intensification, poor animal health care and poor biosecurity.
"Too many farmers seem to want to eradicate all wildlife from their land so they can maximise profit - in doing so they risk the biodiversity of our countryside and with that our health and well being. Leave badgers alone - they are our last remaining large mammal and we should rejoice in them - not support their slaughter."
Betty from Buckley worries that people may be taking the law into their hands:
"Some farmers are threatening to take the law into their own hands and kill badgers, even though any link between cattle with TB and badgers has not been proven.""Farmers have had a hard time with Foot and Mouth, BSE and numerous other diseases which are often related to stock movements, intensive husbandry and over grazing. Making the badger a scapegoat for just one of their ills is not going down well with the public." "Tax payers have had to pay billions of pounds for the consequences of these diseases; we have also had to pay vast sums of money towards CAP subsidies; one of the main causes, I believe, of the degradation of our countryside over the last 50 years." "I suggest that any farmer breaking the law should forgo any right to subsidies. And the sooner subsidies are replaced by grants towards sustainable agriculture and countryside care the better!"
Bob of Bryncoch has this to say to Sue:
"In reply to Sue of Boncath ... I fail to see why Tony Blair should be happy that farmers are getting out of the industry - too many of the Farmers Union are blaming politicans and the government for the problems of an industry that has failed to move with the times and face the realities of modern industry ... it's the same for every business these days, farmers aren't any more of a special case.
"They get away with so many dangerous and illegal working practices, it's a wonder that the industry is still alive at all."
Sue of Boncath says that something must be done about TB:
"TB is rampant in our area but I never hear anything about it on the news. Hundreds of cows are being slaughtered but this does not make the news because they are not being burned in the open! Something is responsible for spreading the disease, but no-one seems very interested in finding out what, or doing anything about it at all. One thing is for certain. TB is achieving for the goverment what BSE and Foot and Mouth failed to do - forcing farmers to sell up their herds and get out of the industry. Happy Mr. Blair?"
Ron of Colorado Springs, USA says leave the badgers alone:
"We still enjoy here in the Western USA the presence of many large and small wild animals. Much of their true 'wild' environment lives on here. There are at least 16 sub-species of badger or taxel in the USA. Here they are thought to be largely beneficial as they eat insect larvae, control rabbits and other pests."
"My suggestion is to leave the UK countryside alone. Enjoy what you've got and stop tampering with nature. It's your countryside. Enjoy it, use it with care, protect it, marvel at it and please don't tamper unnecessarily."
Sarah of Efailwen says it's vital that badgers are tested:
"If they do carry TB, they should be culled, the same as cows who test positive. How will TB be eliminated from the cattle population if it persists in badgers?
"Also, there needs to be improvements in the current TB testing programme. Far too many cattle are being culled only to be found to not carry TB, and the tests need to be carried out more often, before TB has a chance to spread within or between herds."
These are the views of Matt of Penclawdd:
" I feel it absolutely wrong to cull badgers, for any reason, and to consider doing so on such flimsy evidence is arrogant and bordering on hysteria.The farming community has been conditioned into thinking in terms of cost and profit by successive governments and we are in danger of losing any sense of balance between what we put in and what we take out of the environment."
And this is what Christine of Pontarddulais thinks:
"Yet again farmers are using a scapegoat for their own shortcomings! Blaming the outbreak of TB on badgers - there seems no conclusive evidence to fully support this claim.""One theory is that T.B. is spread within the herds themselves. ALL possible causes need to be fully investigated before any action is taken towards the badgers."
David Roberts of Abergele disagrees with that:
"Yes badgers should be culled in TB hotspots."
Bob of Bryncoch has strong views on the subject:
"It's surprising that farmers haven't yet roped foxes into this debate so that fox hunting can be justified on the same flimsy evidence that they're using to call for badgers to be culled.""Animal welfare has got to be made a much higher priority by farmers. Didn't they learn anything from foot and mouth?" "I'd be interested to see if TB rates are lower on organic farms than on non-organic farms, is there anyone that could comment on that?"
Marlene of Swansea says:
"There is no proven link between badgers and T.B. in cattle. Culling should not even be considered until there is real proof. Is it just an excuse for some people to kill these animals for pleasure?"
John of Llanerfyl is angry about the length of time it takes to test for TB:
"Suspected TB freezes a farmers stock and stops his income. It is taking 3 months to test for TB. If DEFRA cannot speed up the tests then it should compensate farmers for the excess period"
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