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BADGER CULL MAKES NO ECONOMIC OR SCIENTIFIC SENSE |
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4th March 2006
 Killing badgers is bad for farmers, cattle and badgers!
On Saturday 4th March the Stroud District Green Party - accompanied by a person-sized badger - handed out nearly 500 leaflets in Stroud High Street urging people to let Defra and their MP know about government proposals for a badger cull. The Green party also released on the internet an online copy of their report into bovine tuberculosis (i).
Chris Keppie who was handing out leaflets and helped research the Green
party's submission to Defra on bovine tuberculosis and badgers, said:
"A cull of badgers makes no scientific or economic sense. Bovine
tuberculosis is a significant problem for farmers in South West England
and indeed the lack of a coherent sensible farming policy means farmers
themselves are becoming an endangered species - but a cull is
definitely not the answer."
Chris Keppie continued: "The Green party are concerned about farmers,
cattle and badgers. There is no evidence to show that a cull would help
with Bovine TB. Indeed seven years of scientific research has concluded
that badger culls could lead to Bovine TB actually increasing (ii)."
Chris Keppie said: "The government's own research shows that cattle
movements are the most significant factor in spreading the disease, and
tighter controls are the obvious answer, not a badger cull (iii). This
new consultation includes policy options that have already been found
to be scientifically unjustified by experts. We fear that like the
bogus GM consultation this is a blatant attempt to manipulate public
opinion into supporting a cull."
Philip Booth, who was inside the badger costume and has campaigned in
the past on Stroud's streets for farmers getting a raw deal over their
milk prices, said: "The Green Party is calling for a combination of
improved testing, movement controls, and biosecurity measures - these
are immediate preventative measures known to be effective. Clearly
more research into vaccines is also needed - but the crucial point here
is that financial support must be given to farmers for all these
measures - 40 dairy farmers go out of business each week in the UK. Our
government's farming policies are a shambles."
Philip Booth concluded: "We urge people to write with their concerns to
their MPs and Defra. If we fail to make them see sense before March 10
we could literally see one of the UK's most loved animals wiped out in
the South West.
Other groups that are against the cull include: RSPCA, Gloucestershire
Wildlife Trust (and other wildlife trusts), National Federation of
Badger Groups, Woodland Trust, Mammal Society, Protect Our Wild
Animals, Animal Aid, Friends of the Earth groups and many more.
Anyone wanting to have their say on the issue should write to: Bovine
TB and Badgers Consultation, Defra, 1a Page Street, London SW1 4PQ or
e-mail bTB.consultation@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Notes:
(i) See the Green party's comprehensive report online under 'Reports' at: www.glosgreenparty.org.uk
(ii) The chairman of the Independent
Scientific Group responsible for overseeing the culling trials has
recently warned that the government ignored the scientific advice
provided and misinterpreted the results of the trials. He has stated
that a badger cull will almost certainly make the situation worse and
that it would be better to focus on cattle controls. Indeed as the
Green party report shows the Government's own research highlighted that
cattle-to-cattle transmission is the biggest reason for the spread of
Bovine TB and that culling badgers around affected farms does not
reduce the overall incidence of the disease. By disrupting badgers, a
cull would lead to greatly increased movements in badger populations,
as well as a weaker remaining population, which both contribute to
exacerbating the problem. This 'perturbation hypothesis' has been
argued by many DEFRA scientists, long before the KREBS trials confirmed
their initial findings.
(iii) According to a 2005 paper
published by an Oxford University team in Nature, cattle movements
“substantially and consistently outweigh” all other factors in
predicting outbreaks of Bovine TB. A tighter testing regime implemented
in Northern Ireland in November 2004 has already led to a 40% reduction
in Bovine TB in the province.
Animal welfare minister, Ben
Bradshaw, has himself told the House of Commons that 80% of Bovine TB
outbreaks are caused by cattle. |
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