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WAG RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 23 March 2011, debate and interview videos

Record of Proceedings - PDF file HERE

WALESONLINE
24 March 2011
BRIAN MAY DETERMINED TO ROCK 'DISGRACEFUL CULL'

Brian May talks to WalesOnline about how he wowed the crowd withi his surprise appearance in his stage show We Will Rock You at the WMC, and about his strong feelings against the proposed badger cull in Wales.

WALESONLINE - VIDEO

LEGENDARY Queen guitarist Brian May surprised the audience at the premiere of musical We Will Rock You when he took to the stage unannounced. The crowd at the Wales Millennium Centre had not been told May would be performing on Tuesday night.

Yesterday May attended an Assembly debate on the proposed badger cull in Wales.

He called the planned measure – reintroduced by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones earlier this month following a court battle won by the Badger Trust – a “disgrace” and vowed to fight it all the way.

But Assembly Members last night voted in favour of going ahead with the cull by a majority of 42 to eight, though Mr May was confident the order would not eventually be carried out.

The 63-year-old music star said: “I think it’s a scandal, I think it’s an absolute disgrace that Elin Jones should be doing this at a time when bovine tuberculosis in Wales fell by 45% in the last two years without a single badger being culled.” He added: “Nothing can be learned from this and so many healthy, beautiful wild animals will die. There is no need to be killing badgers and it’s a terribly irresponsible thing to be suggesting at this time, and I’m depressed that people should want to.”

He said he was unhappy with Ms Jones’ attempts to reintroduce the cull – which would apply to north Pembrokeshire and parts of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire if imposed – even after a court had opposed the plan.

“It’s hard to be civil. I try to be civil because I’m a decent human being,” he said.

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WATCH THE DEBATE ONLINE - HERE

Video of the session is at top of page.

DEMOCRACY LIVE
23 March 2011

The assembly government's decision to resume the culling of badgers to control bovine TB was challenged by a number of AMs on 23 March 2011.In a fraught session assembly members spoke passionately on the subject but remained split on whether the cull order should be annulled

Peter BlackAM, Irene James AM, Jenny Randerson AM, and Lorraine Barrett AM called the motion to stop the cull eight months after the government was forced to shelve the proposal by the courts.

Ms Barrett AM said that more time was needed to evaluate other methods before the slaughter of wildlife, saying that out of 300,000 cattle to have died last year, bovine TB caused only 36,000 of these deaths.

She called the proposal to cull 1,500 badgers in west Wales "draconian".

Labour AM Christine Chapman, who has long campaigned against the cull, also supported the call for an annulment and rallied colleagues to vote against the cull order.

However, Kirsty Williams AM spoke in support of the rural affairs minister's order and said that until an effective vaccine was available, action was need to tackle the disease.

Independent Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates also supported TB eradication plans, saying that AMs needed to look at the problem in a holistic way.

He said that evidence from the British Veterinary Association had made the science clear and that this would on the whole benefit wildlife.

One of the main speakers of the debate, Peter Black AM, said that the cull would be a "foolish and reckless folly" if it went ahead and would split rural communities.

In response Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM said that she would do whatever was necessary to eradicate the problem and protect rural communities.

In the last 10 years, £120m has been paid in compensation to Welsh farmers who have lost cattle to TB.

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COMMENTS FROM ELIN JONES in this report

FARMERS WEEKLY
Welsh assembly votes in favour of badger cull
Jonathan Riley
24 March 2011

Welsh assembly members have voted in favour of plans for a badger cull to control bovine tuberculosis in Wales.

The assembly voted on a motion to have the proposed legislation thrown out. But the motion was defeated by 42 votes to eight.

Rural affairs minister Elin Jones welcomed the result, which will allow the assembly government to proceed with the implementation of the Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011.

The order authorises the destruction of badgers in a specific area of west Wales known as the Intensive Action Area.

"I am satisfied that TB exists in badgers in the IAA and that it is being transmitted from badgers to cattle in the area," Ms Jones said.

"It is, therefore, necessary to destroy badgers in order to substantially reduce bovine TB in cattle and therefore it was appropriate for me to make the order."

She rejected claims that the cull was unnecessary, despite the latest DEFRA figures showing there was a decline in TB across Wales as a whole.

"While the number of TB breakdowns in Dyfed in 2010 was 456 compared with 565 for the same period in 2009 (19% decrease), the situation within the cull area was 79 TB breakdowns compared with 55 in 2009 - a 44% increase.

"It is important to remember that the culling of badgers will not be carried out in isolation but alongside the continued additional cattle controls and improved biosecurity measures that have been in place within the IAA since May 2010.

"This is only one part of a larger programme to pursue the eradication of bovine TB in Wales by dealing effectively with all main sources of infection," she said.

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