Friday, March 05, 2021
Government doubles down on killing badgers
Hopes that the UK Government wouold bring to an end the senseless slaughter of badgers in England have been dashed after it was revealed that thousands more of these protected animals face being shot this autumn after a dozen new applications were made for cull licences.
The Mirror reports that Natural England has received “12 licence applications /expressions of interest in respect to 2021 badger control licensing”::
Answering a request for information from a member of the public, it also revealed the controversial scheme could take place in 14 counties this year: Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.
If the licences are granted, it would be the first time culling had been authorised in Hampshire and Northamptonshire.
More than 40 existing, four-year licences will continue in 2021 alongside the new licences, if they are granted.
The revelation about new applications dashes the hopes of campaigners who hoped the announcement earlier this year(2021) of a Government plan to phase out culling could curb the annual countryside killings.
Some 140,830 badgers have been culled since 2013 in a bid to curb the spread of tuberculosis in cows.
A total of 38,642 badgers were killed last autumn in the programme.
Born Free Foundation policy adviser Dominic Dyer said: “Despite putting forward proposals for phasing out badger culling in January, the Government is planning a major expansion of badger killing in 2021, including into new counties in Hampshire and Northamptonshire.
“This could result in over 200,000 badgers being killed by the end of 2021 – the largest mass destruction of a protected species on record.
“Killing badgers on this scale could push this vulnerable species to the verge of local extinction in areas of England which it has inhabited since the Ice Age.”
It has already been shown by scientific studies that culling does not stop the spread of BTb, in fact it can spread it to other areas. The sooner the government accepts this and replaces this random killing with better cattle control measures and vaccination the better.
The Mirror reports that Natural England has received “12 licence applications /expressions of interest in respect to 2021 badger control licensing”::
Answering a request for information from a member of the public, it also revealed the controversial scheme could take place in 14 counties this year: Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.
If the licences are granted, it would be the first time culling had been authorised in Hampshire and Northamptonshire.
More than 40 existing, four-year licences will continue in 2021 alongside the new licences, if they are granted.
The revelation about new applications dashes the hopes of campaigners who hoped the announcement earlier this year(2021) of a Government plan to phase out culling could curb the annual countryside killings.
Some 140,830 badgers have been culled since 2013 in a bid to curb the spread of tuberculosis in cows.
A total of 38,642 badgers were killed last autumn in the programme.
Born Free Foundation policy adviser Dominic Dyer said: “Despite putting forward proposals for phasing out badger culling in January, the Government is planning a major expansion of badger killing in 2021, including into new counties in Hampshire and Northamptonshire.
“This could result in over 200,000 badgers being killed by the end of 2021 – the largest mass destruction of a protected species on record.
“Killing badgers on this scale could push this vulnerable species to the verge of local extinction in areas of England which it has inhabited since the Ice Age.”
It has already been shown by scientific studies that culling does not stop the spread of BTb, in fact it can spread it to other areas. The sooner the government accepts this and replaces this random killing with better cattle control measures and vaccination the better.
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Killing them is a cheap way out of the problem but does not sort it.If cattle TB isanything like human TB damp cold conditions ,ie farmers sheds will exascerbate the condition.Farmers fear the cost of improvements so they will want others to sort it out.Being Tories cost always comes first.Cheap methods will not solve the problem. Vaccination will on an ongoing project.Half measures do nothing to permanently solve it.T govnt must get a grip
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