Badger cull to battle bovine TB begins
The pilot badger cull to control bovine tuberculosis in cattle is under way.
The cull has started in Somerset and will begin shortly in Gloucestershire. The culls will continue for a six-week period as planned.
Trained marksmen will carry out the culls at night in the two areas of about 300 sq km. A combination of shooting in baited areas and cage trapping before shooting will be used. The aim is to kill 70% of the badgers in the areas, a level deemed sufficient to reduce the disease in cattle while maintaining badger populations.
DEFRA 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.”
He added: “If we had a workable vaccine we would use it. A badger vaccine would have no effect on the high proportion of sick badgers in TB hotspots who would continue to spread the disease. We are working on new badger and cattle vaccines but they are years away from being ready and we cannot afford to wait while TB gets worse.”
NFU president Peter Kendall also released a statement on the cull.
In a letter to union members, he said that start of culling was “an important step not just for cattle farmers but for the whole farming industry”.
“If we had a workable vaccine we would use it. A badger vaccine would have no effect on the high proportion of sick badgers in TB hotspots who would continue to spread the disease.”
DEFRA secretary Owen Paterson
“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.
“We cannot go on culling tens of thousands of cattle every year because of TB while knowing the disease exists in wildlife uncontrolled.”
Mr Kendall pledged to work with the pilot companies running the culling operations to ensure the successful delivery of the pilot culls over the coming weeks.
He added that he understood some people would not agree with culling badgers.
But he said: “I am confident that through the combined efforts of farmers, the NFU and government over the past year to illustrate the impact TB has on farms, and the scientific basis for badger control, more people than ever recognise the need to address the disease in badgers.
“It is also useful to remember our own survey this summer, which showed that two thirds of the public either support or have no opinion on these badger culls.”
And he spoke of his aspiration for the trial.
“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.
I hope that you will continue to show support for those farmers who are facing the nightmare of TB on farm and especially for those who are in the culling areas.”
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