British badger cull now under way amid protests

This 10 September 2012 video from Britain is called Stop The [Badger] Cull.

The controversial badger cull received further bad publicity today after a badger that had been shot in the abdomen was discovered in Somerset: here.

SHADOW environment secretary Maria Eagle vowed yesterday there would no more badger badgering under a Labour government: here.

A study led by researchers at international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and Imperial College London has found that culling drives badgers to roam 61% further afield — helping to explain why the practice, intended to reduce bovine TB transmission, can sometimes exacerbate the problem instead: here.

Zoology researchers from Trinity College Dublin, working with the Department of Agriculture, Food and The Marine (DAFM) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), have unlocked the secrets of dispersing badgers. Their research has major implications for implementing vaccination programmes to limit the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB): here.

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Green Living London

The  badger cull is now under way in England despite protests. About 5,000 badgers are expected to be killed in controlled shootings over six weeks in Somerset and Gloucestershire.

Farmers and the Government say the cull is necessary to tackle bovine TB,  but opponents say it is inhumane and ineffective. They want the emphasis to be on vaccines and tighter on-farm and cattle movement measures. The RSPCA said it was “saddened”, while anti-cull campaigners turned out in large numbers at the pilot sites  to protest against what they call “inhumane” action. It is understood the cull in Gloucestershire will start later this week.

Shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said: “The Government’s divisive badger cull will cost more than it saves and will spread bovine TB in the short-term as badgers are disturbed by shooting.

“We need a science-led policy to manage cattle movements better and a vaccine to tackle TB in cattle. Ministers should…

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