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Badger Cull started in Somerset


CliveH

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Having clients who are farmers - I can see that something has to be done to stop the spread of Bovine TB that can decimate herds and a lifetimes breeding programme.

 

But I also have clients who are Vets and who have deep misgivings about a Cull - because Badgers are territorial and so you kill one - and you get another, a possibly disease carrying one, then moving into the now "vacant" territory.

 

So a cull could actually spread the disease further.

 

Only way to find out is to try it I suppose.

 

A Vaccine is many years away.

 

Anyone any thoughts on this Cull?

 

 

 

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It does seem that, the more one reads up on it, the less clear it all becomes, doesn't it....

 

Like you, we have contact with the farming community(I come from a farming background) and most of them seem all for the cull..

Having said that, some of these same "custodians of the land", would also quite happily grub out all the hedges, cut down every tree and shoot anything that flew/walked/crawled across "their" land, if they could get away with it (..as long as it didn't lose them some sort of conservation "subsidy"!) *-)

 

There just seems too many other factors involved and "iffy" data, to just blame the spread of TB solely on badgers...

 

 

 

 

 

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pepe63 - 2013-08-27 9:40 AM

 

It does seem that, the more one reads up on it, the less clear it all becomes, doesn't it....

 

Like you, we have contact with the farming community(I come from a farming background) and most of them seem all for the cull..

Having said that, some of these same "custodians of the land", would also quite happily grub out all the hedges, cut down every tree and shoot anything that flew/walked/crawled across "their" land, if they could get away with it (..as long as it didn't lose them some sort of conservation "subsidy"!) *-)

 

There just seems too many other factors involved and "iffy" data, to just blame the spread of TB solely on badgers...

 

 

 

 

 

Indeed Pepe - but whatever we think about it - if they carry out a controlled cull under strict conditions then at least we should get the data to then make an informed choice.

 

I dislike the idea of culling badgers - but then - n the New Forest they cull the Deer because they start migrating out of the Forest and raiding crops when the food in the Forest is sparse.

 

Also - I have seen the anguish when a Farmer is forced to kill a whole herd of his cows - a herd he has taken decades to breed and that regularly won prizes.

 

If the Badger is a vector for the disease I think it disingenuous of some to say that killing the badgers is wrong but it is OK to see hundreds of cattle slaughtered.

 

A Vacine seems the best option but it is still a few years away.

 

 

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CliveH - 2013-08-27 10:04 AM

 

Indeed Pepe - but whatever we think about it - if they carry out a controlled cull under strict conditions then at least we should get the data to then make an informed choice.

 

 

You'd like to think so wouldn't you...

 

When it come to animals, we're a funny lot, us humans, aren't we.

 

I wouldn't mind betting that if badgers were hideous, scaly looking things with ruddy great leathery rat-like tails, folk wouldn't care one way or the other about the cull.. :-S

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About time something positive started to rid us of these disease  ridden pests its just a pity it has to be bandied across the media . Now all the tree huggers in carnation will jump on the band wagon and cause chaos and disruption , any chance of a demo and they will all crawl out of the woodwork just for the sheer hell of it.
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