It’s time that there was a judicial review of the badger protection act as it’s no longer fit for the purpose it was intended, as I’ve said before badgers are worse off now than they have ever been, because there is no management system in place the disease has become endemic in large pockets of the UK yet Scientists solution is to kill more and more cattle. The krebs trials turned out to be a financial disaster and completely ineffectual to the problem of TB.
Since the act was imposed 25 years ago, TB has become totally out of control. The same 25 years has had continual failure by scientists to come up with a effective disease eradication strategy on the management of badgers. Whilst continually putting all their efforts on cattle to cattle transmission of TB. TB is far worse and more widespread than you think as we’ve lost over 14,000 dairy farms in the UK over this period.
The protection act was brought in to prevent badger bating using dogs. This was a very small and isolated practice that for all we know could be continuing today. Most people would realise TB is spreading through the badger population because this a total protection act not a welfare act.
Scientists have concluded that culling badgers has no positive effect and could make the situation worse. If you are one of the Independent science group, you have certainly proven how to make things worse.
All the experts on Brian Mays symposium have a lot of questions to answer.
In the last 20 years since I’ve been involved in finding the truth about Bovine TB and how it is spread.
1. We’ve had the failed krebs trials
2. A failed vaccination programme
3. A failed GPS satellite system (tagging a few badgers and cattle to see if they interact, and coming up with some ridiculous conclusions that badgers and cattle don’t meet)
4. A computer programme designed by a scientist who knew nothing about cattle or badgers. He came up with the conclusion that if you keep killing more and more cattle TB incidence in cattle would drop. There a Well-educated conclusion, brilliant!
5. Movement restrictions,
6. Pre-movement testing
7. Bio-security
8. More severe readings on cattle testing, killing ever more cattle
All the above failures have cost the UK tax payer millions, but has cost our cattle industry and family farms far, far more. After all their failed efforts TB is still totally out of control.
Here’s what the protection act has actually achieved.
Over population, leading to disease without control.
Badgers have Immunity from vandalising at will, crops, gardens, lawns, allotments, ancient monuments, sports recreational grounds, church and grave yards, undermining roads, farm buildings house estates, destroying hedges, utility pipes, drainage systems, undermining field structures.
As well as the intense fighting for territories and the damage they do to each other through badger to badger fighting.
Probably worst of all is their refusal to deal with this serious disease at its infectious source rather than random killing, we are allowing it to spread to cats, deer, pigs, alpacas etc. Whilst badgers carry on destroying many of our ground nesting birds and hedgehogs.
Farmers have been given a randomised cull as the only method available to them over a 42-day period, at the worst time of year and told this is all you have. Whilst the disease in the badgers is free to roam with your cattle for the other 10 ½ months of the year at will.
Farmers have had the opportunity and legal right to kill as many deer, foxes, rabbits, hares, rats, squirrels yet all these species are either thriving or like with rats and squirrels their numbers are out of control. So this idea put forward by all animal groups that as farmers we are so irresponsible that we are going to kill every badger when there isn’t a problem in some areas, but where there are problems they should be given the information and the legal right to target and remove infected wildlife, with the most humane methods, not only to protect their cattle but to protect other species as well as keeping our badger population healthy. For those that are appalled at the thought of amending the badger protection act I suggest that for at least 5 years all poisoning and killing of rats should be abandoned and see where that leaves us.
Brian Mays symposium is being held later this month by these 20 so called experts, I hope they will open they’re meeting by apologising to Cattle farmers and farming industry for their incompetence over the last 25 years and for not finding an effective strategy to deal with TB. But sadly, it will be more of as self-indulgent, spin on their conclusions. My definition of spin is a traitor to the truth.