Badgers (From The Northern Echo)
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Badgers
11:59am Thursday 17th July 2008 in Letters
RE the letter from Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) supporting Environment Secretary Hilary Benn’s decision not to authorise a badger cull to tackle rising bovine TB (HAS, July 11).
Some regard it as madness that common sense, much scientific evidence, the Krebs (culling) trial, a former government chief scientific advisor, backed by professors of ecology, immunology, epidemiology, veterinary medicine and MPs who have lots of experience in this matter, are ignored.
All believe a controlled cull to be the only answer, and surprise, surprise, the Government is breaching EU law by not taking action to eradicate bovine TB.
How can a policy that sees the suffering of badgers, other wildlife, and cattle (14,000 killed because of TB in just four months) – with the only suggestion to counter this being more control of cattle movements and the vague hope that an effective vaccine can be successfully produced in the distant future – be justified?
There are farmers who have brought no new stock into, but suffered TB in their herd.
Despite increased movements due to restocking in the North after foot-and-mouth, the disease is largely unknown in the North- East, although with the rapid increase of badger populations and lack of action it is creeping up on us.
John Heslop, Gainford, Darlington.
Comments(1)
Justin Kerswell
says...
11:41am Fri 18 Jul 08
In 1998, he formed the Independent Scientific Group on bTB (ISG) after his report, which claimed there may be a case for badger ‘culling.’ The ISG’s investigation included the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), costing £34 million and taking 12,000 badgers’ lives. The report was published in 2007 and ISG chairman, Professor John Bourne (Animal Health, University of Bristol), reported that “badger culling cannot meaningfully contribute to the control of bTB in Britain.”
Bourne’s categorical findings were challenged by the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir David King, who rushed out his own report within months, urging a ‘cull’. The King report was smaller, had fewer experts – and only met for a single day. Bourne and Nature, the leading science journal, heavily criticised the King report as “hastily written”, “superficial”, riddled with “small mistakes” and appeared to have been “written to please the farmers”. The result is that it gave the Government an excuse to instigate a cull to appease farmers should they want to.
Lords Krebs, who founded the original badger cull trials, was also highly critical of the King report. He has stated that improved cattle testing and keeping badgers and cattle separate would cost less than a ‘cull’ are “as likely to work”. He also expressed concern that a badger cull across the UK could kill at least 170,000 animals – more than half the UK population.
The bottom line is what the science says: cattle TB is spread by cattle, not wildlife.
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