27.08.13
TB badger culls start in Somerset
Badger culls to try and control bovine TB begin in Somerset today, the National Farmers’ Union has stated. Around 5,000 badgers will be killed in controlled shootings over six weeks to control the disease, which can pass from infected badgers to cattle.
A cull in Gloucestershire will also begin later this week. Defra has estimated that the culls could reduce the number of new cases of TB in herds by 12% to 16% over nine years.
But activists warn that a cull is both inhumane and ineffective. Groups of protesters have been disrupting traps and bait laid to lure badgers out, before they are shot. Marksmen will not be allowed to shoot if there are people present.
Dominic Dyer, a policy adviser at Care for the Wild, said: “People are shocked when they find out that only 15% of badgers have TB and that the Government will not even be testing to see any of the badgers they intend to kill have [the disease]. These two facts together completely undermine the cull policy.
“We are seeing a political kneejerk reaction to a problem. It is liable to backfire on the Government and the NFU. People are outraged.”
In a letter to members, National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall said: “I am writing to let you know that the first pilot badger control operations have begun. This is an important step not just for cattle farmers but for the whole farming industry.
“I know that many of you reading this will have suffered the misery of dealing with TB on farm – some of you for decades – and I hope now you will feel that something is finally being done to stem the cycle of infection between cattle and badgers.
“I hope that when time shows that these culls have reduced TB in cattle – just as has happened in Ireland – that even more people will understand that while sad, these culls are absolutely necessary.”
Environment secretary Owen Paterson said: “We know that despite the strict controls we already have in place, we won't get on top of this terrible disease until we start dealing with the infection in badgers as well as in cattle. That's the clear lesson from Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the USA.
“That is why these pilot culls are so important. We have to use every tool in the box because TB is so difficult to eradicate and it is spreading rapidly. If we had a workable vaccine we would use it. A vaccine is at least 10 years off.”
And a Defra official said: “Bovine TB is spreading across England and devastating our cattle and dairy industries. In TB hotspots such as Gloucestershire and Somerset we need to deal with the infection in badgers if we're to get a grip on TB there. No country has dealt with the disease without tackling infection in both wildlife and cattle.
“We are working on new cattle and oral badger vaccines but they are years away from being ready and we cannot wait while this terrible disease spreads.”
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Image c. Ben Birchall/PA Wire