Culling badgers 'counter-productive'

The Green Party has criticised the the government's Chief Scientific Advisor's recommendation that culls of badgers should be carried out to control the TB epidemic in cattle. This is deeply disappointing that they could ignore the science. See our local news release today here.

This is an issue I have followed over the last couple of years - Greens in Stroud mounted a campaign last year - that's me in the badger outfit in the photo - I've spoken with numerous people including several local farmers both supportive of cull and against and with local vets who support the cull. See Len Ballingers story here - he was a local farmer whose cattle were the first in Britain to be linked to the theory that bovine tuberculosis comes from badgers and he has since rubbished the connection – and declared his land a "no-kill zone".

The story is not straight forward but despite seeking the evidence to see if a cull was justified I have failed to find any that makes a cull the answer - the stuff is just not there - as Roy Hattersley says today in The Guardian 'Science backs the badgers' - I am sure this will lead to more local actions by the Stop War on Badgers group - I have joined there meetings several times in the past - their website is well worth a look to see a slightly different view from the Badger Trusts - basically we urgently need research that is broader than the past trial and looks at wider issues - I'm no scientist but my gut feeling is that it is our industrialised farming that is at fault - it is crazy that dairy farmers need to increase yields from cows by some 3% a year and many now keep cows inside all year around - see a letter I wrote last year here.