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Science Chief Recommends Badger Cull
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Posted: 26th October
2007
Photo: Sue North |
Once upon a time, back in the 1970's, a dead badger was found on a Gloucestershire farm where the cattle had just been
discovered to have bovine tuberculosis (bTB). After testing, the badger was also found to be infected with bTB. Further
investigations by MAFF (now DEFRA) showed that although other wildlife carried bTB, the levels in badgers were
higher than for other species. Badgers were declared the root of all evil, and the rest
as they say is history.
Nearly forty years on arguments still rage between wildlife campaigners and cattle farmers as to who is responsible for the spread of bTB. There's no doubt that the badger has been a convenient scapegoat.
Over the years tens of thousands have been gassed, snared, trapped and shot, and yet there's still no hard evidence to prove whether badgers give bTB to cattle or vice-versa.
According to the National Farmers' Union about 2,500 cattle a year get bTB, and some 30,000 stock are killed every year
because of the disease. Clearly this is a massive problem for cattle farmers. But the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) carried out a nine-year experiment to see whether killing badgers would prevent the spread of
bTB. Surprisingly they found that a culling policy would have no direct impact on controlling the disease in cattle, and could even make it worse.
The results, which were published in June this year suggested the methods most likely to combat the spread of TB in cattle are; an increase in the level of cattle
testing, improved biosecurity, and stricter controls on the movement of cattle.
Despite this, the government's chief science adviser Professor Sir David King (
mpst.king@dti.gsi.gov.uk ) has this week recommended culls of badgers should be carried out to control the bTB epidemic in cattle.
Sir David King believes that culling could be effective in areas that are contained.
But the ISG's study showed that although
bTB infection dropped in the immediate area of a cull, it actually increased on adjoining farms because the badgers
dispersed to surrounding areas.
The Badger Trust issued a statement saying they were "shocked that this review was conducted in secret and involved
advice from the Republic of Ireland where 30 years of badger culling have left Eire with twice the level of bTB in the national
herd compared to that found in Great Britain."
Trevor Lawson public affairs advisor to Badger Trust commented: "Prof King's list of recommendations repeat virtually word for
word the opinions of farming unions and the cull mad vets in Defra. This is a highly-politicised rush to judgment, which,
ludicrously, contains no cost benefit analysis."
The RSPCA's head of wildlife science, Rob Atkinson, speculated that Sir David had come under pressure from the Government:
"A cull would mean senseless slaughter, enormous suffering and would be scientifically bankrupt," he said. "The science shows
a cull is not a long-term solution, unless we want to continually exterminate badgers from vast regions of the country."
Related Links:
UK Safari Badger Pages
UK Safari News
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