Badger Cull?

[rynnor]

The thing I don't understand about this (apart from its doubtfull effect on TB) is why only badgers and not Deer as well?

Both carry the Bovine strain of TB but for some reason all eyes are on the badgers?

 

[Scouse]

New laws are needed to kill badgers, not Deer.

Think it's a disgrace myself.

 

[rynnor]

TB is an issue though - difficult to seperate the Badger causes from the constant livestock movements and even the skin test isnt perfect if they recently acquired the disease.

I dont personally see how anything short of extinction of the badger is going to really help things and because other vectors exist even this may not be the fix we hope for.

But then you have to ask is it worth wiping out the Badger just to save a few quid - there's no suggestion that wiping out badgers will eliminate TB.

 

[Scouse]

is it worth wiping out the Badger just to save a few quid

Of course not.

If it is, then we need to change our economic ruleset.

 

[rynnor]

It does seem odd - effectively its cheaper to pay farmers to kill badgers to bring down tb by a few percent than to pay compensation for that few percent.

If it works...

But it completely ignores the animal suffering and morality issues and is likely to lead to local extinctions which are currently prohibited.

Ofc the way to fight it is to boycott british beef - consumer power is king...

 

[brooky]

 

[dysfunction]

They should be using a vaccination instead.

Badger vaccination 'would be cheaper to implement than cull'

http://gu.com/p/3ga7f

 

[Wij]

They should be using a vaccination instead.

Badger vaccination 'would be cheaper to implement than cull'

http://gu.com/p/3ga7f

Only if you include the costs to police the protests. If you start taking shit like that into account then you're on the way to anarchy.

If the vetinary soc says a cull is the best way then I'm not gonna argue. (Torygraph link. Not bolox-checked.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/co...ot-control-bovine-TB-without-badger-cull.html

 

[Hawkwind]

They can inoculate badgers cubs and the farm calves against TB. As usual morality goes out the window when it comes to money. Also farmers make up a large sector for the Tory grassroots so they do not want to upset them.

Beautiful creatures and as a great man once wrote "mostly harmless" My outlaws have some land in Somerset with 2 badger sets on it. They put food out for them every night them, great to sit in the conservatory and watch them.

The deer do more damage to the land. 20 years ago the farmers said badgers needed culling for rabies and were gassing the sets, now its TB. What next AIDS! I don't doubt the TB thing is true but there has to be a better way to control the TB.