Badgers in Cumbria need not be culled if controversial pilot is a success

BADGERS in Cumbria would not be culled if a controversial pilot to eradicate bovine TB is successful, according to the National Farmers’ Union.

Wildlife campaigners have threatened action to save threatened badgers after Natural England issued its first licence for a pilot cull in Gloucestershire on Monday.

But the NFU’s north west spokesman, Carl Hudspith, said: “This does not affect Cumbria because there is no reservoir of bovine TB in the county, which means no badgers will be culled.”

However, Cumbria has not been entirely immune from the disease. In April 2011, farmer Robert Threlfell of Plumpton Head Farm, near Penrith, lost 103 animals in his milk herd to bovine TB.

No sign of the disease was found in local wildlife, prompting the NFU to suggest the disease may have been brought to Cumbria via an infected animal passing throught he area.

Comments(4)

sunbeams says...
3:33pm Thu 20 Sep 12

Bovine TB is caused by poor husbandry - usually during the winter months when cattle/livestock are kept indoors. Until cattle are provided with clean and humane living conditions, then no amount of Badger culls will stop this disease. We have to ask ourselves the question "why do cattle in Africa suffer from Bovine TB when there are no badgers"? My understanding is that the Government and its departments are aware of this and choose to offer a Badger cull as a token appeasement to farmers as they do not wish to increase the cost of proper husbandry to already suffering farmers and thereby increasing the cost of meat and dairy products when they (the Government) are endeavouring to reduce the cost of living. We must provide and treat our livestock with care, appropriate and clean living conditions so they can live healthy lives albeit they are part of the food chain. We must remember that they too are sentient beings and need proper care and cleanliness to remain healthy exactly the same as humans do. Until we as a human race acknowledge and accept this fact and continue to treat cattle as simply a commodity for human consumption then sadly Bovine TB and other animal conditions will continue. Do we really need to kill the entire Badger population whilst continuing to experience Bovine TB before we can get the Government and its departments to finally listen to all the scientific evidence?

sunbeams says...
3:33pm Thu 20 Sep 12

Bovine TB is caused by poor husbandry - usually during the winter months when cattle/livestock are kept indoors. Until cattle are provided with clean and humane living conditions, then no amount of Badger culls will stop this disease. We have to ask ourselves the question "why do cattle in Africa suffer from Bovine TB when there are no badgers"? My understanding is that the Government and its departments are aware of this and choose to offer a Badger cull as a token appeasement to farmers as they do not wish to increase the cost of proper husbandry to already suffering farmers and thereby increasing the cost of meat and dairy products when they (the Government) are endeavouring to reduce the cost of living. We must provide and treat our livestock with care, appropriate and clean living conditions so they can live healthy lives albeit they are part of the food chain. We must remember that they too are sentient beings and need proper care and cleanliness to remain healthy exactly the same as humans do. Until we as a human race acknowledge and accept this fact and continue to treat cattle as simply a commodity for human consumption then sadly Bovine TB and other animal conditions will continue. Do we really need to kill the entire Badger population whilst continuing to experience Bovine TB before we can get the Government and its departments to finally listen to all the scientific evidence?

snuggle-bunny says...
11:20pm Mon 24 Sep 12

there's a small minority who take pleasure in butchering defencless
animals to satisfy their blood ****. It doesnt matter if it's fox hunting, hare coursing or badger culling. why not cull a few farmers instead

tictoc1 says...
9:53am Tue 25 Sep 12

I don't think the majority of farmers need culling instead. Perhaps the pompous p.i.l.l.o.c.k.s that get pleasure from it?

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