3 September 2016
The government has announced that it will extend the badger cull into four new areas in the South West (South Devon, North Devon, North Cornwall and West Dorset), despite a lack of evidence that it has been effective in reducing bovine TB, and concerns that it is not being conducted humanely. Culling will also continue in existing cull areas of Somerset, Gloucestershire and North Dorset.
Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato cited a scientific reportcommissioned by the government as showing the cull to be "nothing more than mass cruelty supported by bad science." She argues that “In an area like the South West, where farmers are so deeply affected by this disease, we need effective and scientifically grounded policy, not political performance. Ms Leadsom should re-focus her efforts on humane and evidence-based controls, on extending programmes of badger vaccination, and on investment into developing a cattle vaccine that is the real long-term solution. While TB infections are continuing to rise in the existing cull areas, in Wales, which uses scientifically supported techniques including rigorous TB testing, tighter controls on cattle movement, and strict biosecurity measures instead of inhumane culling, there has been a 14% reduction.” There is a petition to end the badger cull here.
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