BADGERING LORD ROOKER

11-09-2007

Lord (Jeff) Rooker isn't only a member of our Message Board - he's also Minister for Sustainable Food, Farming and Animal Health. That's why badger lover Sandra Dudley is posting a plea, amid rumours that he's about to approve a new badger cull.

picture by Richard Yarnell - The Badger Trust

Dear Lord Rooker

As a committee member for Staffordshire Badger Conservation Group, and in my capacity as a director of Badger Trust, I have grave concerns around the disservice you will be doing to British farmers, if you advocate the culling of badgers in an attempt to eradicate Tb in cattle.

The Independent Scientific Group (the ISG) produced its report in June clearly stating that “Badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain” The scientists advised that bovin TB (bTB) can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the consistent application of cattle-based control measures alone.

We do not deny that there is a link between badgers and bTb in cattle, but killing badgers is likely to make matters worse rather than better. In any case any threat to cattle from badgers has been shown to be far outweighed by cattle to cattle transmission

We understand that some farmers are already applying for a licence to kill badgers on their land, because collectively they have over 300 km2, but the resulting perturbation effect on the badgers could be devastating for farmers whose land borders this area.

A further serious problem would be that of administering and supervising such a cull should it be licensed. We are concerned that farmers would use gassing, snaring and/or shooting. All these methods have flaws, and snaring is the most inhumane of the three.

Bovine tuberculosis can be controlled by improved testing, more stringent movement controls and better cattle husbandry. Over 11,000 badgers have so far been killed in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, but only a small percentage actually had the disease

Any cull is likely to be most expensive - so much so that the Government has already indicated its unwillingness to pay. The ISG report has taken ten years to research and compile and has cost £50 million of taxpayers' money. The report was commissioned by the Government, who should now stand by the results.

To waste all this money and time by disregarding the findings because they have not provided the result you seem to have wanted is a gross injustice to the taxpayer.

Yours sincerely

Sandra Dudley

(Note: Stirrer editor Adrian Goldberg is Patron of the Staffordshire Badger Conservation Group).