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The badger is the scapegoat |
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20 Sep 2012, 4:36 AM
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Provisional licenses have already been issued for the two trial badger culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset. It looks as if the cull is to go ahead - and very soon. Many are opposed to the proposals.
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Interestingly even Lord John Krebs, who led a major government-commissioned study of badgers and bovine TB, this week called the culling plan a 'crazy scheme that may deliver very small advantage (and) may deliver none.'
There is massive opposition from all sectors. Most of the badgers killed will be healthy. Several groups have joined together to create 'Teambadger'. There is an online petition (http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257 ) if you want to join the growing number who are opposing the cull because it just does not make any sense. It could see the badger virtually wiped out from many of its current strongholds.
Culling badgers is claimed to bring a mere 16% reduction - and even this figure is a guess. In fact the whole bovine TB policy is suspect. The same system, based on an imperfect skin test for cattle, has repeatedly failed for some fifty years or more. The policy exists mainly to protect human health, yet cooking and pasteurisation destroy the bacteria so the risk to humans these days is arguably 'negligible'. The Health Protection Agency has confirmed that the risk to humans is negligible, defined as so small or unimportant as to be not worth considering.
Two eminent scientists propose that bTB in cattle is irrelevant as a public health policy and there is little evidence for a positive cost benefit in terms of animal health. Such evidence is required; otherwise, there is little justification for the large sums of public money spent on bTB control in the UK.
Is it time for a rethink ? We should have a 'control' rather than 'eradication' policy based on cattle vaccination - the only obstacle is apparently EU regulations ...
‘Public Health and bovine tuberculosis – what’s all the fuss about?’, by Paul R Torgerson and David J Torgenson can be read at http://www.zora.uzh.ch/47412/
www.rethinkbtb.org
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| Positive review of this story |
Brock  |
26 Sep 2012, 2:02 PM |
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Could it be overfarming that's the cause? Gone are the small farms that rarely had problems with TB despite badgers living in close proximity. Now we have huge dairy farms with huge herds of cattle modified to produce unnaturally high supplies of milk. The balance of domestic v wild animals surely is a green issue.
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| Negative Review of this story |
WDEg  |
22 Sep 2012, 8:04 AM |
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Nothing to do with green building.... This is a farming community countryside issue. Please stick to articles which are relevant to green building.
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