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WEST BRITON: Badger cull 'would kill 70%' of badgers in bovine TB hotspots, farmers told

WEST BRITON
17 Feb 2011 | By Farming Editor
As many as 70 per cent of badgers, sick or not, will be slaughtered in bovine TB hotspots if a cull goes ahead, farmers have been told.

Badger cull 'would kill 70%' of badgers in bovine TB hotspots, farmers told

Farming Minister Jim Paice, speaking to 150 farmers at the National Farmers' Union Conference in Birmingham yesterday, said he was personally committed to a cull, but no decision had yet been taken.

Government proposals were for a focused and highly organised cull and he said he still believes that it should be part of a package of measures in the campaign to eradicate the disease, which last year led to the slaughter of 40,000 cattle.

Mr Paice said: "There are hundreds of farmers in the South West who want us to get on with it, but we are determined to get it right, if it goes ahead. If it does start we must get that 70 per cent of badgers out as quickly as possible."

A consultation period on a cull has just ended and the balance of responses was firmly against action to kill badgers, he reported to the special workshop session on TB.

There were a whole raft of measures put forward, he said, including some which farmers would not like, though he would not elaborate on what those might be. But three main issues arose.

Firstly, it was clear that to be properly organised farmers would need to be formed into limited companies to be licensed to cull specific areas, and to ensure that the rules were adhered to for the full four-year term of the licence.

Secondly, the boundaries of the areas needed to be clearly defined to prevent "perturbation", the shifting of diseased badgers to peripheries where they could not be included in any vaccination programme.

And thirdly, there was the security issue, said Mr Paice – threats to farmers and other people involved in culling.

Kevin Pearce, the NFU's director of regions, said that a claim by the RSPCA that a badger cull would cost farmers more than having a cattle herd catch TB was "absolutely ridiculous". Research by the University of Exeter has shown that TB herd breakdown cost an average of £192,000 a year, far more than the cost of culling.

He said he was keen to get "shadow groups" up and running in four or five hotspot areas to study the practicalities, if a cull was allowed.

Speaking from the floor, Tiverton farmer Andrew Brandon said he was concerned that once infected badgers had been cleared, nothing would be done about the badger setts involved, which would remain infected for months.

Simon Gregory, an NFU solicitor for Devon and Cornwall, said it was important to use the right language if a cull took place.

"It's worth remembering and emphasising that this is an animal welfare issue," he said. "If the Government allows a cull we should stress it is the Government that had the support of 60 per cent of the electorate."

Responding, Mr Paice said: "We shall need to be very constructive and positive about this – and explain in some detail why a cull is needed."

Responding to questions from farmers, he said culls would be permitted in four or five control areas in the first year, before being rolled out further in later years.

Senior NFU officers privately said a cull was not a done deal, saying the Government could pull back as it has over the sale of publicly-owned forests.

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