Badger cull to go ahead

[Christel]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... sfeed=true

Shame on the decision makers.

[dromia]

Oh I don't know, from what I've seen around here recently I could be persuaded.

[saddler]

...does the cull include that pesky 2-legged badger varmint-tyke type chap??

[20series]

...does the cull include that pesky 2-legged badger varmint-tyke type chap??

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Dougan]

It's always the same - while our population has nearly doubled over the last 100 years, and very much at the expense of the natural environment, we seem to think nothing of eliminating inconvenient animals that stand in the way of our lifestyles....

....it's pathetic!

[Harrier1980]

Site with a link to the Gov petition

http://justdosomething.org.uk/badgersmatter

[meles meles]

*orders up more sandbags, more ammunition*

[wildrover77]

I an of the opinion the sooner they get the cull started the better. Whay is everyone worried about a few badgers? I dont see any protests about the thousands of livestock that are culled each year because they are TB positive. Whay are badgers seen as a special case and bovines are not?

If you read into the history of TB you might take it a bit more seriously, it in the not to distant past was what a large number of people died from. It was not antibioitics taht stopped it it was the pasturisation of milk. It is now developing resistant strains and has the potentil to become a major killer again.

[Dougan]

Whay are badgers seen as a special case and bovines are not?

Well you could argue that badgers are a natural species that's been here as long as we have; and that cattle are bred by use as an unnatural resource.....

I won't make that argument though, as I'm very fond of beef - What I object to it the fact that we (government/policy makers/voters) aren't willing to spend the money to really solve the problem; as cures and vaccines aren't impossible...just costly....

...we are however willing to throw billions of pounds at cosmetics, clothes, mobile phones etc. every year - hell, the money we will spend just this coming christmas would fund an awful lot medical research, and not just for curing bovine TB!

And why do you think strains are becoming resistant?....could it be that pharmaceutical companies encourage doctors and vets to hand them out like they are bloody smarties!

[meles meles]

The clue is in the name: BOVINE tuberculosis. It's endemic in cattle, who then pass it on to badgers. It's present in cattle in the main because of poor animal management. Herds of poorly managed cattle can pass the disease to badgers who then pass it to other cattle, which may have been better managed. Badgers are a vector, not the cause of the problem. Studies have shown that bovine TB is much reduced in herds that are reared in conditions close to those approved by the organic farming community - and the badgers locally are healthier too ! Also, can you think of many other industries where poor working practices are compensated by the taxpayer ?