Badger cull 'not necessary'..?

[Nightwalker]

I dont know much about the Badger Cull but I see the BBC have been broadcasting that organisations now think it was a waste of time and not infact the major problem/cause in the spread of tuberculosis amoungst cattle.

Whats the take on the issue here? Has it all been a waste? Do they keep rough figures on the amount of badger killed in the cull?

 

[BorderReiver]

I dont know much about the Badger Cull but I see the BBC have been broadcasting that organisations now think it was a waste of time and not infact the major problem/cause in the spread of tuberculosis amoungst cattle.

Whats the take on the issue here? Has it all been a waste? Do they keep rough figures on the amount of badger killed in the cull?

Aye it's been a waste.It would have actually made the situation worse if badgers had been to blame as it caused them to disperse more widely.

The cull in Ireland proved it was pointless but HMG still went ahead here.Typical.

The sad thing is,it is probably cattle that are spreading TB among the indigenous fauna.

 

[gregorach]

The hard-core cynic in me can't help wondering if the cull has been successful in removing badgers from any prime development sites...

 

[EdS]

the spread of TB is down to animal husbandary as much as anything. Keep cows in barns over winter in close contact with each other. Result and infected herd rather than the odd beast.

 

[Marts]

The BBC report has come on the back of the ISG's final report which was released Yesterday. This report has been a long time in the coming (about 10 years in all!), though it was becoming clear a while ago that the badger cull was partly a naive reaction brought about more by politicians wanting to be seen to be doing something rather than any considered scientific response.

The ISG press release from yesterday is here (17Kb):

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/isg/pdf/final_pressrelease.pdf

The full report (2.5Mb) is here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/tb/isg/pdf/final_report.pdf

and here is a quote from the press release that kind of sums it up for me:

"The ISG has concluded that, although badgers contribute significantly to the cattle
disease in some parts of the country, no practicable method of badger culling can reduce
the incidence of cattle TB to any meaningful extent, and several culling approaches may
make matters worse."


and here's a link to where we got to discussing it last year:

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9964&highlight=badger

 

[JonathanD]

The whole thing is maddening and saddening. Wonder what else HMG can find to kill. Probably all the wild birds to prevent avian flu

 

[KAE1]

Gonna stick my neck on the line. I don't think badgers are to blame but I don't believe in blanket protection neither. The pendulum seems to swing to extremes and once any creature is protected that seems to be it, regardless of population or damage.

For the record I am thoroughly enjoying watching a couple os setts at the moment, delightful creatures.