Chief Scientist Supports Badger Cull

UK - The NFU has welcomed a report from the Government's Chief Scientist which endorses the value of a concerted campaign to target bovine tuberculosis in badgers alongside measures to limit the spread of the disease between cattle.

23 October 2007

3 minute read

Europe

Sir David King says culling in contained areas could work

But NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond warned that Government action on the strength of the Chief Scientist's report was urgently needed, with cases of bovine TB in cattle reaching a new high, according to the latest official figures.

These reveal that there had been 2,677 new outbreaks of TB up to the end of August this year, compared with 2,190 at the same stage last year. That represents a 22% per cent increase, year on year.

Allowing for an increase in the number of herds tested for TB, the incidence of the disease has increased from 6.48 per cent in 2006 to 7.7 per cent so far in 2007, a rise of 18 per cent. In the previous worst year for TB, 2005, the incidence as at the end of August was 7.25 per cent.

Mr Raymond said the figures provided damning confirmation of the failure of the Government's existing strategy for dealing with TB and the vital need for a completely new approach.

"What we are seeing in these figures is the folly of trying to control a disease by dealing with only some of the causes of it. What is the point in putting in place all sorts of costly and disruptive measures to reduce the spread of disease between cattle if you do nothing to prevent it getting into the cattle in the first place?

"We are not in the least bit surprised at the Chief Scientist's conclusions and we strongly endorse his statement that 'strong action needs to be taken now to reverse the upward trend of this important disease'.

"Now that we have scientific endorsement for the principle of badger culling, there can be no further excuse for the Government not to act. We stand ready to play our part in carrying out a scientifically designed badger culling strategy in partnership with the Government's veterinary advisers in accordance with the Chief Scientist's recommendations."

Mr Raymond said that, to be effective, a badger cull would have to reduce badger numbers significantly in the worst TB hotspot areas. But he pointed to recently published research* commissioned by Defra on "the ecological consequences of removing badgers from the ecosystem" which found that other species such as hedgehogs and ground-nesting birds benefited from badger removal.

"Removing diseased badgers from the countryside is not just the only course of action now open to the Government, it is the right course of action as well. It will help reduce the appalling numbers of cattle that are being slaughtered prematurely because of TB, it will give the farmer victims of this terrible disease some hope for the future, it will reduce the risk of other wildlife becoming infected, it will take some of the pressure off species like hedgehogs and ground-nesting birds, and ultimately, it will be in the best interests of the badger as well."