Facts About the Badger Cull
With badger cull plans currently on hold in Wales, the focus recently shifted back to the English badger who faces danger from a new government. Read below for a brief background on some of the issues.
The British Badger:
Badgers are an instantly recognisable symbol of the British countryside. They make their home in woodland areas, often near pasture. Badgers are social animals, living in large underground tunnels called setts. These tunnels can be centuries old. There are over 90,000 badgers widely distributed across the UK, most commonly in the South and South-West.
Badgers and TB
Although badgers are protected under the Protection of Badgers Act (1992) there is a provision which allows badgers to be killed to prevent the spread of disease. A 10-year study performed by The Independent Scientific Group on cattle TB (ISG), which cost taxpayers £50 million, concluded in 2007 that culling badgers would make no meaningful contribution to bTB control in Britain and could indeed increase the spread the disease. Shadow Environment Secretary, Mary Creagh has stated,“This cull has no scientific basis, may not work and could make matters worse.”
Although bTB is an infectious disease of cattle, it can also infect badgers, deer, goats and pigs, as well as many other mammals. In 2010 the government spent £63m in England on the disease. The same year 24,899 cattle were slaughtered for bTB control. The staggering economic impact of bTB has been a key motivator in the hunt for a solution.
Political Intervention
Since coming into power in 2010, the Conservative government have cancelled four out of the five vaccination trials set up by the previous government. Cancelling the trials indicates a commitment to forge ahead with the deeply unpopular badger cull, despite widespread calls from the public, celebrities and scientists to invest in vaccination and tighter cattle control measures as an alternative.
The cull plans announced by Caroline Spelman involve granting farmers licenses to 'free shoot' badgers - a method that has not been scientifically tested for the control of bTB. The cull is set to begin in two pilot areas next spring before spreading rapidly to other parts of England.
