UK Badger Cull extended to 10 more areas

[LPC]

Thank you for drawing attention to this, Tobi. I'm not surprised that the first article is biased in favour of the cull, as it is "Farmers Weekly"! Farmers are all too happy to put the blame on the badgers, when actually it is their own practices which causes BTB to spread: going to markets, where animals are tied up in the proximity of others from other farms; semi-intensive farming, where cows are kept close to each other, especially in winter; poor hygiene on farms, etc. Buying and selling cows from/to other farms is probably the biggest risk, as it introduces an animal to the herd which could be infected (tests are not 100% reliable). Herds which do not buy cattle in (renewing stock by keeping own young cows) tend to avoid BTB altogether.

As I have mentioned on previous threads, Scotland has been BTB free for many years, but has never had a cull. So blaming the badgers just doesn't work.