#badger culling

[lelianaspuppy]

No one at work knows what I wear under my overalls... ;)

[hail-dondus]

I’ve just read about the number of badger deaths in the culling this year and I’m furious because I had no idea it was even still a thing!

I said this before about people hunting foxes but WHO THE HELL AGREED TO THIS

STOP KILLING ANIMALS, IT’S NOT DIFFICULT

[a-framed-dog]

How come, before the days of Badgers being protected, there were hardly any outbreaks of bovine TB recorded? It is a well known fact by those of us who live and work in the countryside that TB is endemic in the badger population, and it spreads quickly. Much of the deer population now has TB as well, and there have been cases of domestic dogs being infected as well. How much longer before it spreads to humans is an interesting question that should be asked. In reality, it has probably already happened, and been 'hushed up' so as not to upset the bunny huggers. We never used to see badgers around this part of the country. Now they lie dead on the sides of the roads in many locations. The badger population is getting way out of hand, and we need to return to the former policy of culling them and destroying their setts. This won't be popular with the bunny huggers, but perhaps when they or their families contract TB they might just think differently.

coltheox

Misinformation, lack of understanding, prejudice and ignorance all in one handy quote!

Now that has put me off researching the Conservative standpoint on badger culling after just 5 minutes on a tory message board. Spot the issues with this post, I can count 6 major ones!

http://www.conservativehome.com/the-deep-end/2014/06/theres-good-news-on-bovine-tb-but-the-farm-lobby-wont-like-it.html Seen on this site.

[newsdock]

Badger culling has begun for the second year in the South West, renewing calls from critics to end the controversial policy. The government said that the killing of the wild animals had resumed in Gloucestershire and Somerset in a pilot scheme aimed at fighting bovine tuberculosis in cattle. Doing nothing is not an option," said environment secretary Elizabeth Truss. Source: AFP

[newsdock]

The Government's badger culling policy has come under renewed attack after it emerged that policing costs for two pilot culls were more than £2.4 million. Source: Press Association [view]

[pixiesoncrack]

via imgfave for iPhone

[penguinsdontpurr-blog]

There were more politicians in the house of commons on the news a minute ago to discuss badger culling than there were on BBC Parliament earlier in the adult literacy and numeracy debate.

Discuss.

[tacklingbovinetb-blog]

Why are we not testing dead badgers for bovine TB?

Another question we are often asked on Twitter is:

Why are you not testing the badger carcasses from the pilot culls for bTB? Isn’t this a missed opportunity to add to scientific knowledge?

We already have evidence from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) that a significant proportion of badgers in hot spot areas carry bovine TB (bTB). The RBCT found that 16% of badgers carried the infection, but analysis (Crawshaw et al (2008) Vet Record - subscription needed) suggests the real figure is double this rate as the signs and symptoms are easily missed unless there is a detailed post mortem.

The pilot culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire are to test whether or not controlled shooting is a humane, safe and effective method of culling. This means that the focus of the post mortems which will be carried out will be on assessing if the badgers have been shot in a humane way, rather than checking for the disease.

It is very difficult to detect bTB in badgers, even with a post mortem, which means we would not necessarily get any better data from the trail culls.