Badger cull halted

Earlier this month, appeal court judges halted a proposed cull of Badgers in Wales to the delight of conservationists but to the dismay of farmers and ministers who believe the cull would reduce the cases of bovine TB in cattle. The planned trapping and shooting of badgers was planned predominantly in the area around Pembroke, but the judges ruled the extent of the cull had not been defined clearly enough. The ruling is expected to hold up the cull for a number of months as well as delaying proposals for culls in England.

Opponents of the cull say there is already a decline in the number of cases of bovine TB in cattle in Wales, and an independent study commissioned by the Government found that culling badgers would make no significant reduction in bovine TB cases in cattle.

The Welsh Assembly Government has insisted the pilot cull would be part of wider measures to control the disease including tighter controls on cattle. The coalition government has scaled back trials of badger vaccination trials and vaccinations for cattle is still years away.

The Badger Trust launched the appeal against the cull and said the assembly government had not balanced the expected extent of disease reduction with the effect of the cull on badgers.

The trust’s costs in the legal action run to more than £100,000. Its spokesman, Jack Reedy, said: “We are very pleased to see the law can be effective in protecting badgers. This case does not change the science one jot. The science shows cattle-based measures are sufficient [in tackling TB in cattle].”

The RSPCA said: “This is a timely reminder about the importance of meticulous attention to detail before any culling regime is considered.”

Wales’s first minister, Carwyn Jones, said: “It’s important that we deal with TB in Wales because it’s a problem that is growing. We will consider the implications of the judgment, but what’s absolutely clear is that we cannot allow a situation to persist where TB increases year on year in Wales.” Read more…..