To Cull or not to cull.

[JonathanD]

A vaccination for badgers has existed for some time. Bovine vaccinations haven't. That report is just from one angle, but it touches upon the research and time frames involved in producing an effective bovine version. Remember that cattle encompasses many species, but badgers are just one. Therefore it is easier to research a specific species vaccination than one that encompasses a larger umbrella of species family.

 

[Joonsy]

just wondered if the badger/cattle/TB problem was confined to the UK, what is the situation in other countries.

 

[JonathanD]

The same. But we do have a bigger problem than other countries.

 

[nuggets]

in the opening paragraph of that statement in link it says the emphasis was to find an innoculation suitable for badgers, surely the emphasis should have been on the cattle with them being a captive stock, i'm no scientist it just seems common sense.

it all comes down to cost -pounds shillings and pence !! they know the number of cattle in this country -due to foot and mouth and the passport controls for each individual animal ................................. do they know how many badgers live here ????? ........... NO!!

 

[nuggets]

i had no idea pasties were an invasive species. i no longer have any need to feel any guilt when devouring an entire pack again

he looks like a european migrant aswell !! can we eat him or cull him ????

 

[789987]

what does badger taste like?

 

[nuggets]

what does badger taste like?

nothing like a cow burger !!!

 

[resnikov]

what does badger taste like?

Not sure but on my wife's side of the family one of the relatives makes badger paté with the road kill he finds.


Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nuggets]

and they are very hard to milk !!

 

[JonathanD]

and they are very hard to milk !!

Only the sows.

 

[Hugo]

I have friends of the farming fraternally, and very good people they are too, I know they would say cull them as they keep cattle, me I have said no to culling, don't agree with it one bit.
Three cheers for Mr Badger.

 

[greensurfingbear]

I'd like to see cattle vaccinated. However, this vaccine isn't available yet and I saw on Countryfile that it won't be 'til next year.

From what I've read and conversations I've had with folk a vaccination has been coming "next year" for years.

 

[Joonsy]

looking at it logically not scientifically (i'm not that clever) it seems to me that if mass culling of badgers goes ahead it will probably slow down the spread of TB to a degree (to what degree no-one can accurately say) but only while the cull is ongoing, as soon as the cull stops badgers will breed and spread again and re-colonise the areas left devoid of badgers and the problem will start all over again, in other words the problem can only be slowed down by culling if the culling is a continual process or badgers are eradicated totally, surely that is a price too high, at least it is in my opinion and other alternatives should be sought to find a permanent solution without eradication.

 

[JonathanD]

This is true. The red tape and legislation that would need to be plowed through, approved and re-approved by the various body's involved before it would be available for use is immense.

 

[JonathanD]

looking at it logically not scientifically (i'm not that clever) it seems to me that if mass culling of badgers goes ahead it will probably slow down the spread of TB to a degree (to what degree no-one can accurately say) but only while the cull is ongoing, as soon as the cull stops badgers will breed and spread again and re-colonise the areas left devoid of badgers and the problem will start all over again, in other words the problem can only be slowed down by culling if the culling is a continual process or badgers are eradicated totally, surely that is a price too high, at least it is in my opinion and other alternatives should be sought to find a permanent solution without eradication.

At this time of year, badgers leave or get kicked out of setts and have to establish new territories. It's quite possibly the worst time of year for a cull to go ahead as badgers from other areas will move into unnoccupied setts. Natural selection is taking place right now in the badger community, us culling them at this time will stop that.

 

[santaman2000]

A vaccination for badgers has existed for some time. Bovine vaccinations haven't. That report is just from one angle, but it touches upon the research and time frames involved in producing an effective bovine version. Remember that cattle encompasses many species, but badgers are just one. Therefore it is easier to research a specific species vaccination than one that encompasses a larger umbrella of species family.

True if you're referring to the entire bovine family. But domestic livestock is limited to just the one species (or possibly 2) as shown in this excerpt from Wiki:

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"Cattle were originally identified as three separate species: Bos taurus, the European or "taurine" cattle (including similar types from Africa and Asia); Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle. Recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, with Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius as the subspecies."

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Within that species are numerous "breeds." But that isn't (or shouldn't be) any more dificult than developing the various vaccines available for dogs which also have hundreds of separate breeds (but are still just the one species)

On a related note, I'd like to see researchers working on an effective vaccine for humans. As someone who has worked in an industry with relatively high possibility of infection (corrections) and having had several family members in healthcare occupations with even higher possibility.

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

TBH I stand on both sides of the fence on this one, in some areas they need a cull in other areas they don't. It should be looked at on a case by case basis before this goes ahead so the need for a local cull can be assessed.

 

[JonathanD]

That's the problem though isn't it. Badgers disperse. To cull one area would just mean badgers from other areas would soon fill it again. Where do you draw the line? The fact is, no-one knows or has any idea how the cull can or will work. It's going to be an experiment, that's all. And at teh moment it's an experiment with no clearly defined parameters. In which case, renders the experiment and results of that experiment.... moot.

 

[bearbait]

Many livestock farms keep their cattle "indoors" for 6-8 months of each year to avoid poaching the ground and for ease of feeding and management during the winter. Dairy farms bring their cattle into the milking sheds twice a day x 365/366. As I recall TB is spread by close confinement with infected members of the species. Maybe badgers are "one" of the vectors for spreading the disease to cattle. But maybe we're keeping too many cattle in close confinement for too long to manage their health properly. Maybe it's fundamentally a cattle-management problem? So we need a whipping boy. And tonight, Brock, you've won the prize...

(NB before any flames I would like to point out that I live in a farming community and used to keep cattle and sheep...which lived outdoors all year round.)

 

[santaman2000]

Many livestock farms keep their cattle "indoors" for 6-8 months of each year to avoid poaching the ground and for ease of feeding and management during the winter. Dairy farms bring their cattle into the milking sheds twice a day x 365/366. As I recall TB is spread by close confinement with infected members of the species. Maybe badgers are "one" of the vectors for spreading the disease to cattle. But maybe we're keeping too many cattle in close confinement for too long to manage their health properly. Maybe it's fundamentally a cattle-management problem? So we need a whipping boy. And tonight, Brock, you've won the prize...

(NB before any flames I would like to point out that I live in a farming community and used to keep cattle and sheep...which lived outdoors all year round.)

Close confinement indoors may aggravate the problem but domestic cattle (like their wild ancesters) are herd animals by nature. They'll seek out close contact with or without our interference.