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Badger cull plan too onerous, warns NFU

FARMERS WEEKLY
Johann Tasker
Wednesday 21 September 2011 12:16

Onerous conditions threaten to render the government's badger cull proposals unworkable, farm leaders have warned.

Expecting landlords of tenant farmers to enter into special agreements before a culling licence is granted is neither proportionate nor appropriate, the NFU has said.

Concern over plans to introduce so-called TB Management Agreements is raised in the NFU response to a government consultation on the cull proposals, which closed on Tuesday (20 September).

Also known as section 7 NERC agreements, these documents outline the obligations to be met by farmers once a four-year culling licence is granted. They would allow the government to take over responsibility for culling and recover the costs should those obligations not be met.

In the case of a tenant farmer, the proposals would also require the landlord to enter into an agreement to ensure access to land remains available for the duration of the four-year culling period if the tenancy changes.

The government believes such a move is necessary to ensure a four-year cull is completed even if the farm in question changes hands. But the NFU believes it is neither proportionate nor appropriate.

"In our view, such a requirement is impractical, wholly disproportionate and likely to be prohibitively difficult to achieve in practice," the NFU submission says.

Instead, the NFU believes the government should accept that agreements should be entered into with tenants - just as they are with agri-environment schemes. In such cases, landlords sign a simple declaration agreeing to continue with scheme obligations should the tenant leave before the agreement expires.

The NFU said it was reiterating its commitment to working with the government and Natural England to stop the spread of bovine TB. But it was vital the policy and licence conditions were both practical and deliverable to ensure a meaningful impact was made on the disease.

"I want to stress that the NFU is committed to help coordinate, plan and establish control groups to carry out badger controls," said NFU president Peter Kendall. "We take the challenges this brings very seriously; this is not going to be a short-term fix and we are fully prepared for that."

The industry could deliver an effective and humane cull provided ministers took heed of the points in the NFU submission so the policy was a practical proposition, he said.

 

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