Badger Culling plans for England

hi Craig

I really thought that this issue had been sorted out for once and for all..or is it another passing phase to eradicate Badgers forever.

It is back to what I say each time and that is why kill a wild animal as it is not going to cure the issue at all - really at all.

TB is rife, and Badgers are carriers but is that an excuse to kill them all for froever reason.  Badgers are only doing what comes naturally and they have the right to live too.

From what i have seen on 'Countryfile' cattle are given TB inspections every year and an odd one or two cattle may be infected in one herd,  but is this not going the right way about the issues of Badgers, and TB?

I know Sooty on this Forum is a Farmer and if he is in at one point would love to hear his views on this subject

Regards

Kathy and Dave

The Krebs Trial report suggested that if you cull a certain number of animals those that are kept alive will then being social animals; seek to find other badgers outside its territory and potentially spreading the disease to more cattle.

Surely there is a vacination that can be used on both cattle and badger?

or is that too expensive an option!

Hello Craig and well done for raising this issue. I have been extremely grateful to you on several occasions now for highlighting this type of environmental or animal care issue, I only wish we had a few MP's of your calibre. 

I admit I become far too angry to put forward a coherent argument just at the moment but would appeal to everyone to join the RSPCA campaign to fight against this proposal. This is a link to email your MP, only takes a minute. There is also lots of further information.

http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/badgers/-/article/Pol_BadgersIntroduction

Thanks again Craig, I hope you do not mind the link :-)

Not at all Jef. Thanks for the link, I will add my name to it.

I just think it is so unfair to cull a species when other avenues and options can be explored.

I hardly ever see badgers and its a shame that my chance of seeing them now could well be reduced.

Thanks

Craig

I have already written as I live in the midst of a large badger territory. I see more dead on the roads though, through whatever means, than live badgers !

Well folks the other side of the coin is that if you owned a herd of cattle which you had spent your life breeding and looking after perhaps even your parents doing the same you would not want that herd slaughtered because badgers had infected it with T B and of course it has happened that when that farm restocked they were re-infected and slaughtered.The Badgers are obviously suffering more and more so we are not doing them any favours.Culling definitely works but not in the haphazard way it has been done in the past and the longer we mess about the more Badgers are getting infected and infecting cattle at an alarming rate.Think it has increased sevenfold in the last ten years.The cost to the tax payer,probably all of us is horrendous in compensation for these cattle.

Please do not think farmers hate Badgers,as always some do some like them and must point out we had a Badger sett on the farm with over 100 cattle on the farm never having any trouble and enjoying the Badgers at all times unfortunately now we have retired we see Badgers with T B getting closer and closer to these Badgers and seems only a matter of time before they get infected which is really sad.Unfortunately vaccination does not seem a option or would surely be carried out.In times when almost anything can be done it amazes me that we cannot catch Badgers over a large area, test them and put the unfortunate ones to sleep and in time release a clean population.For sure the testing that farmers have to do means that it should not be spread from animal to animal as long as the Governments test IS ACCURATE.       

Added my name too Jef {thumbs up}

Brenda: I have only seen one dead badger so far and it was found at the side of a country lane in Scotland - so sad to see.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

I've signed it, thanks.

Unknown said:

Hello Craig and well done for raising this issue. I have been extremely grateful to you on several occasions now for highlighting this type of environmental or animal care issue, I only wish we had a few MP's of your calibre. 

I admit I become far too angry to put forward a coherent argument just at the moment but would appeal to everyone to join the RSPCA campaign to fight against this proposal. This is a link to email your MP, only takes a minute. There is also lots of further information.

http://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaigns/badgers/-/article/Pol_BadgersIntroduction

Thanks again Craig, I hope you do not mind the link :-)

How strange for the RSPCA to do this.When approached several times by local people saying come and do something because local hunts were sealing Badger Setts illegally to stop foxes going to ground they did not once help the Badgers so my guess is this is good fundraising publicity.They were absolutely pathetic,just did not want to get involved.Wonder if the hunts were good for a bit of money to the RSPCA. 

I agree with the idea Sooty suggested about capturing and humanly putting those animals to sleep that are infected and vaccinating the healthy population.

but we know this wont happen. The way I see it really is that if a cull is to go ahead then ALL badgers would have to be destroyed otherwise you are leaving this infection to chance.

Its either do it properly or not do it at all and doing it properly is by vacination.

Its a no brainer!