Badger, Badger, Badger

S

Spiritinthesky

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The Badger culls are due to begin in June 2013, it’s now or never for the badgers!

Brian May has launched a petition so they can deliver 250,000 voices against the badger cull to ensure that the Government can’t ignore this any longer.

If you want to help please click here: Team Badger
 
I am guessing you don't think the Badger cull should go ahead.
Why do you think it shouldn't?
 
because brian may is going pay for immunisation and dont remember anything on the the news of an epidemic of tb in cows .this is just a cash cow for loonies with guns,
 

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What's the problem with badgers? Is it a disease thing; or are they just a pest? And how is the cull gonna take place? Will wildlife officers do the culling?
 
Eric said:
What's the problem with badgers? Is it a disease thing; or are they just a pest? And how is the cull gonna take place? Will wildlife officers do the culling?
Click to expand...

Ongoing debate Eric about whether they transmit Tuberculosis to cattle...it's been rumbling on for years.
Lot's of pros and cons int t'internet.
I am not convinced that the facts either way stack up. Spin and skew both sides.
 
Eric said:
What's the problem with badgers? Is it a disease thing; or are they just a pest? And how is the cull gonna take place? Will wildlife officers do the culling?
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About 6% of them carry bovine TB. As they wander about they spread infection to deer, horses, dogs etc but particularly cattle.
The taxpayer paid out £100 million in compensation to farmers in 2012 and that didn't fully compensate them.
You can't vaccinate the cows, the vaccine makes them show positive for TB even if they haven't got it. Anyway, the EU says no so that's it.
If tested positive the cow has to be destroyed.
At the moment badger TB is only in the SW of England so they hope a cull will contain it there and hopefully eliminate it.
The Government will use gamekeepers, police marksmen and licensed rifle owners(who are already called in to cull deer).
So far culling wildlife and cattle has been the only way any country has successfully eliminated
bovine TB.

Sorry, DtheP, didn't see your post. I think the science is proved but badgers are so cute it's got emotional. If it was rats no one would bother.
 
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Gordon Booth; said:
I think the science is proved but badgers are so cute it's got emotional. If it was rats no one would bother.
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Unfortunately we have a thread starter that won't put forward facts, I wish the badgers could be spared, however if it were practicable to vaccinate the badgers, somehow I think it would already have been done.
TB testing of cattle has kept it away from all of us, not the best way to die ask mags, she'll have the details.

So long as it's done as humanely as possible rather than for badger baiting sport, should we object to keeping farmers and their well cared for cattle safe?

One bad cow can ruin many lives, I know, I married one.
:o
 
Less said:
Unfortunately we have a thread starter that won't put forward facts, I wish the badgers could be spared, however if it were practicable to vaccinate the badgers, somehow I think it would already have been done.
TB testing of cattle has kept it away from all of us, not the best way to die ask mags, she'll have the details.

So long as it's done as humanely as possible rather than for badger baiting sport, should we object to keeping farmers and their well cared for cattle safe?

One bad cow can ruin many lives, I know, I married one.
:o
Click to expand...

They are doing it in Wales Less.

Update 28 November 2012: Badger vaccination total tops 1400.

Environment Minister, John Griffiths has announced that the Welsh Government has now vaccinated over 1400 badgers in the Intensive Action Area.
The Minister confirmed that the Welsh Government had now completed the first year of its badger vaccination programme which is part of a wider programme of work to eradicate bovine TB from cattle in Wales.

Welsh Government TB Eradication Programme - June 2012 - YouTube
 
Lifted this off the Guardian article:

So the debate continues. It's an argument about science, politics and economics. It centres on protecting food animals from harm, just as our ancestors have done since farming first got started. But, to me, it also raises interesting questions about how we see ourselves and other animals. It's about how much we see ourselves as a "dominant" species, entitled to subjugate the needs of other animals beneath our own. It's about how much room we demand as a human population (with a taste for milk and beef) and how much room we're prepared to make for wildlife.

And let's not forget, if it hadn't been for us, cattle and badgers might not have had TB in the first place
 
in fact youve got some farmers who support vaccination then youve got the hooray henrys who just want to shoot everything including us poor peasants;)
 
Other Causes of Bovine TB Spread
You could be forgiven for thinking that Bovine TB wasn’t correctly named; if you were to read an article from the NFU or Defra you would probably think that the disease was actually ‘Badger’ TB, an infection originating from, spread and hosted by our native wildlife.

The truth is Bovine TB is a disease of cattle, the bacteria evolved to infect cattle and is chiefly spread between cattle. Badgers became involved in this whole debate as they, like many other warm-bodied mammals, are a vector (an animal which is able to ‘carry’ the disease) for bTB.

When a previously uininfected herd suddenly develops the infection, it is often incorrectly assumed that it must have been passed on via the wildlife reservoir; but is that really the case?

Yesterday this artcile was published, stating that bTB had spread to the border of Cumbria and Lancashire most likely due to “bought-in infection from high-risk countries”.

Earlier this week, this article, told the story of a vet being struck-off for not properly conducting TB tests on cattle.

The Farmers Weekly have reported on breaches in health and safety concerning Bovine TB samples.

There are countless stories about rogue farmers illegally swapping ear tags; Vets Online, Westmorland, Farmers Weekly, Bovinetb, etc.

And various others concerning other fraudulent activities concerning cattle; Farmers Weekly, Darlington, ThisisGloucestershire, Farmers Guardian…

These are just a few of countless articles available online and until these issues have been thoroughly delt with a cull on wildlife should not go ahead.

well well it has nothing to do with badgers they were infected.so really it should be a cull of irresponsible farmers.
 
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Gordon Booth said:
Anyway, the EU says no so that's it.
If tested positive the cow has to be destroyed.
Click to expand...

Not just the EU ... same rule applies over here. Also, seems as if bovine tb does not occur naturally in wild animal populations. Kinda feel sorry for the badgers, but .... . I suppose that one could trap badgers, test them, and, if they are clear, relocate them. But that's probably difficult and too expensive.
 
As it stands the assumption of Badgers being the cause of BTB hasn't been conclusively proven, more cases tend to arise through bad animal husbandry than spread through an outside agent.

The Cull gained favour because it's easier, less labour intensive & cheaper than a programme of vaccination. The Badger protection act came into force in 1992 (consolidating various earlier acts)& since then they've thrived. Like everything that was once under threat of decimation, an act of protection is passed, they recover, over populate & are once more the subject of debate & questions over their status.

It's even easier if they can be scapegoated for something or other making them a more viable target.
 
DaveinGermany said:
As it stands the assumption of Badgers being the cause of BTB hasn't been conclusively proven, more cases tend to arise through bad animal husbandry than spread through an outside agent.

The Cull gained favour because it's easier, less labour intensive & cheaper than a programme of vaccination. The Badger protection act came into force in 1992 (consolidating various earlier acts)& since then they've thrived. Like everything that was once under threat of decimation, an act of protection is passed, they recover, over populate & are once more the subject of debate & questions over their status.

It's even easier if they can be scapegoated for something or other making them a more viable target.
Click to expand...

It would appear that it is cheaper to carry out a badger cull than vaccinate all cattle - I think it unlikely that the whole of the badger population could be eliminated and only one needs to be left to continue the spread of bTB. Rabies was almost completely eliminated by doctored bait in Western Europe - why not the same for badgers and vaccinate all cows?
 
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