 Badger cull fails to halt the spread
of bovine TB A new report claims the virtual extermination
of badgers in the Republic of Ireland has failed to stop the spread of
bovine TB.
Although so many badgers have been killed that they are extinct in many
areas, the level of TB in cattle is twice as high as in Britain, it says.
The study comes from Badgerwatch Ireland and the British Badger Trust.
It has been released just before the British Government receives an advisory
report considering a similar cull.
Trevor Lawson from the Badger Trust said the report showed that farmers
were incorrect in their assumption that killing badgers would eliminate
bovine TB.
He said: “The grotesque extent of the Irish extermination proves
that killing badgers does not control or eradicate bovine TB in cattle.
“Badgers are a scapegoat for bad farming practices and an inadequate
bovine TB testing regime.
“Our findings make a mockery of the demands for badger culling made
in Britain by the National Farmers’ Union and other organisations.
“If you’ve eradicated virtually all your badgers and you’ve
still got twice the level of bovine TB in your national herd than you
have in Britain, where we’re not slaughtering our badgers, then
clearly Ireland has got it wrong.”
The farming industry and many vets are adamant that badgers help spread
the disease among cattle.
They would like to see a targeted cull aimed at infected populations of
badgers in hotspot areas including parts of South West England and in
Wales.
The groups believe their assessment supports the view that bovine TB in
Ireland is largely spread by cattle.
They say the disease rocketed in Ireland when pre-movement TB testing
for cattle was abandoned in 1996. |
