POLL: Pest or pet - Do we need to cull badgers in West Wales?
WELSH Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones recently laid an order to give the Assembly the power to cull badgers in an area in West Wales.
The order will come into force on March 31, and aims to eradicate the respiratory disease in cattle herds in West Wales by killing the omnivores within a dedicated zone.
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Do the badger need to go? Vote in our poll and let us know what you think.
The cull has drawn criticism from Queen guitarist Brian May, who said he hoped people would vote Jones out of office in response to the cull.
Is the cull necessary to protect the livelihood of Welsh farmers? Or can another way be found?
The order can be found on the Welsh Assembly Government's website at: www.wales.gov.uk/bovinetb
Let us know what you think by voting in out poll and leaving a comment below.
Comments
by Norma, Neath
Saturday, March 26 2011, 12:32PM
“Elin Jones still refuses to accept the huge reduction in animals slaughtered with bTB that is a positive outcome of the stricter cattle controls that have been recommended by our top scientists during a 10 yr. Study, and including results since that time that proved killing 11,000 badgers, the disease returned with equal force 4 yrs later, and the disease spread further. Conclusion - killing badgers makes no meaningful difference to bTB in cattle, and a waste of public money, as this is a cattle based disease and can only be tackled from within the herds themselves.
The present huge reduction of bTB we have seen during the last 2 yrs. and still reducing, without a badger killed, proves it would be foolhardy to start killing badgers again now, that would only ¿cloudy the waters¿ and would most likely spread the disease further. Why not keep on with the good work already being achieved and showing amazing results.
Also, instead of just providing Biosecurity advice to farmers to lessen the disease, this should be made a part of ¿Best Practise¿ by legislation to ensure the 99% to 100% transmission rate between cow to cow does not continue on farms.
The National Statistic figures between 2009 & 2010 show that initially only insignificant controls were brought in, with many animals still ¿slipping through the net¿. Yet still achieving a good degree of success. Clearly the amount now being achieved through more stringent controls shows how well this disease responds to strict cattle controls and proves beyond doubt that strict Cattle Controls is all that is needed to control this disease.
Elin Jones would be wasting a huge amount of Tax Payers money to consider using failed methods now, such as slaughtering badgers, and not ¿grasping the nettle¿ by concentrating exclusively on cattle controls that is now proved to be the only true answer to controlling this disease.
Elin Jones and her cronies should follow the peoples wishes that are 75% of the general population who do not want a cull, and whose money she would be squandering, if she followed failed practices and farmers with only old ideas that have failed in the past. Elin Jones would be advised to follow the peoples wishes who are the VOTERS after all.”