The latest cull is not honest,scientific or even effective at containing bovine TB. It is simply a political move to appease countryside votersJoin me, dear urban dwelling, and bunny-hugging Guardian reader,in setting aside your ethical and environmental concerns approximately killing our biggest surviving carnivorous wild animal, and follow this, or the most rational case that can be made in favour of England’s badger cull.
Small dairy farmers are struggling. Bovine TB is a genuine problem in West Country hotspots and although farmers receive compensation for slaughtered cattle,it doesn’t cover their costs. Cattle and badgers transmit the disease to each other, with the latter being just one “wildlife reservoir” of a poorly understood disease that is spread by everything from pigs to deer. An eight-year scientific study estimated that a rigorous badger cull could reduce the rate of increase in cattle TB by 12-16% over nine years.
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Source: theguardian.com