Online campaign group 38 degree has today launched a petition on its website against a cull of badgers as part of measures to control bTB.
The below features extracts taken from the relevant webpages, with an NFU commentary in italics. Some of the material has since been removed from the site.
38 Degrees: The results are in. 87% of us think that we should work together to stop the government's plan to shoot thousands of badgers next spring.
NFU: Us? Surely of those that responded.
38 Degrees: There's been a big debate among 38 Degrees members about badger culls. Some of us believe killing badgers would be wrong under any circumstances. Some of us believe that if the science really proved that shooting badgers could make a real dent in the cow TB problem, it would be a tragic necessity. But 87% of us agree on this: the government's current plans to shoot England's badgers simply don't stack up. The government's own scientific advisers warn that it won't solve the problem of TB in cattle…
NFU: This is a fraudulent claim. No one has ever suggested that a badger cull alone would solve the problem of TB in cattle. It needs a comprehensive policy. The negative is, however, true. Bovine TB has never been tackled effectively without addressing a wildlife host, where it exists...
38 Degrees: …and could even make it worse.
NFU: Yes it could, which is why an immense amount of effort has gone into devising a programme that will be co-ordinated, sustained and simultaneous.
38 Degrees: Please add your name to support a scientific approach to tackling cow TB and against the government's plan to shoot badgers
NFU: What is this scientific approach that people are being asked to support? Where is it explained?
38 Degrees: But the government has scrapped trials of badger vaccines.
NFU: No it hasn’t. An injectable badger vaccine has been licensed and anyone in an infected area will be free to take up this option if they so wish.
38 Degrees: They fail to compensate farmers for the full impact of the disease. Instead they're proposing to launch a badger shooting plan which their own experts say won't solve the problem. They fail to compensate farmers for the full impact of the disease. Instead they're proposing to launch a badger shooting plan which their own experts say won't solve the problem.
NFU: Why is this claim not referenced? On the contrary, scientific advice as explained in the consultation last December, and in a paper published by Defra in April, supports badger controls and this is endorsed by the Chief Veterinary Officer of England and the Defra Chief Scientist.
38 Degrees: Together, we can persuade the government to invest in a long-term, science-led approach to cow TB.
NFU: What exactly is this approach the government should invest in? No mention that while we are waiting for this the problem will get worse. Costs to taxpayers will rise to £1 billion over the next 10 years.
38 Degrees: We can stand up for real solutions not unscientific political gestures.
NFU: 38 Degrees is performing contortions here. The policy is based on science, but it is not necessarily popular. It is 38 Degrees that can be more fairly accused of unscientific political gestures.
38 Degrees: And we can make sure that thousands of wild creatures aren't needlessly slaughtered in the process.
NFU: Not needlessly, if it makes a positive difference to cows and the situation with TB.
bTB: tweet into the debate...
The announcement of a package of measures to tackle TB ignited a lively debate on the social networks. If the web savvy among you would like to challenge some misconceptions, or add to the debate, you can use the hashtags #badgercull and #TBfree. In addition, you can re-tweet from @NFUtweets and @GetTBfree.
See also:
- D.Randolph - 12/08/2011
Some can remember when TB was nearly eradicated in UK. A plot of badger numbers since protection against tb outbreaks and the reduction in hedgehogs and ground nesting birds, would show an interesting correlation. Proper management, as used to occur, would regain control of an unpleasant disease now also present in wild deer, dogs and cats.
- joan burnett - 08/08/2011
farmers are not anti-badger, they wish to eradicate a disease which causes agonising deaths to badgers by its spread from infected animals. Surely it is better to kill an infected animal swiftly than leave it to face a painful and protracted death. Likewise, the unnecessary deaths of thousands of cattle and the consequent despair of their owners should be considered. Badgers have been allowed to expand in numbers to the detriment of their own population and this should be addresssed.
- John Hewlett - 07/08/2011
The skin test is the problem. By culling cows that have merely been exposed to TB without clinical signs of disease present, a future source of resistant bovines is being lost. Get EU law changed to allow vaccination of cows. Ditch the skin test and its costs. Badgers are no hazard to human health so forget a badger vaccine. Even with a clinical TB case in a herd of cows, humans are protected by pastutisation and abbatoir inspections! Kill the skin test ,not the badgers!