The argument for the pro-badger cull lobby is simply ridiculous and falls apart under any kind of scientific scrutiny. The real reason for the now expanded and bounty driven badger cull in 2018 is, in my opinion, to gain votes and party campaign contributions from the farming community and the landed wealthy elite and hunt/bloodsport lobby.
A simplistic view, maybe, conspiratorial yes, if that means I’ve genuinely researched the studies and evidence into this case then I stand accused. When this kind of insane controversy raises its ugly head, my first instinct is to follow the money and influence. I learnt a long time ago the politicians never waste a drama or crisis to capitalise on.
Since the first recognised outbreak of Bovine tuberculosis was identified in the body of a dead badger found on a farm in Gloucestershire in 1971, the whole debate has staggered back and forth like a drunk on a Saturday night.
Hundreds of millions of taxpayers money have been spent, some say squandered on trying to find a solution to the spread of Bovine TB.
The fundamentals are all wrong. I will give a simple example as to why culling is not only ineffective but also encourages the movement of badgers and the possibility of wider TB transmission that is if badgers are to blame.
As a naturalist for 40 years and a wildlife photographer for over a decade, I spend a very good portion of my time observing wildlife, especially the native species of the UK.
I’ve spent countless hours watching the habits and lifestyles of badgers. They are intelligent, social, family-based mammals. Not once have I witnessed any regular interaction with cattle, in fact quite the opposite. The badgers I’ve seen on farmland tend to use the hedgerows and field borders when crossing fields inhabited with livestock. I have seen them around cattle sheds and farmyards and this is often used to point towards the source of TB infection. It is more likely that the cattle are actually infecting the much lower concentrations of badger than the other way around.
The majority of cattle, whether for beef or dairy, live in not ideal conditions, especially in the cold, wet winter, shoulder to shoulder being fed unnatural diet and pumped with 16 vaccines, growth hormones and antibiotics (all of this chemical brew goes into the meat on your plate). Is it really any surprise the industry lose so many cattle to disease and infection per year? One infected cow wipes out a herd. The industry move these animals around the country increasing the risk of exposure to other herds and yet the humble badger gets the blame; it’s insane.
The increase in mass, industrial level cattle farming is about to sweep across the industry using the American model. This is terrible for human, animal health and the environment but this I will have to address in another article.
The major problem with the ‘logic’ of the badger cull to decrease TB transmission is simply this: You have something called ‘the perturbation effect’; I’ll explain.
Badger group behaviour
When you have a stable population of badgers you have very little movement between sets (badger homes) and populations. Therefore if TB is present in a given family group the spread of outside infection is very low.
When you start culling the population, removing large numbers of animals from local areas you open up new territory for the displaced animals to move into (can you see where I’m going with this yet?).
Healthy badgers from outside designated infected areas move into the vacant territory and encounter infected sets and animals that have escaped the cull. Also, not all culled bodies can be collected which leaves another, unseen source of infection. Badger to badger infection multiplies and therefore the likelihood of cross-species infection goes up.
Because the new population of badgers in a culled area is lower than the carrying capacity of the land the Badgers move around much more freely and therefore can infect new areas previously free from the disease. This is as a direct consequence of the local area culling.
Studying a report based on the largest randomised badger culling trial carried out by the Independent Scientific Group set up to advise the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom (now Michael Gove’s office). The report clearly showed that local, small-scale culling and targeting of particular farms actually increased infection rates rather than reduce them.
Another trail over a wider area of up to 100km only achieved a very modest reduction in infections but however increased infection in adjoining lands and previously un-culled areas. The Badgers were obviously moving around looking to inhabit previously occupied territories spreading the infection to each other and possibly to the cattle herds.
This study and similar others are widely accepted by the scientific community but have been ignored by our government. Why? This is a very obvious and yet unanswered question.
In the last week (May 2018) Michael Gove has put a Government-financed bounty of £50 on the head of all badgers. The implications are horrendous. Most sets I’ve observed over the years can have a dozen or more animal living in them. That’s a potential reward of £600 per set!!! That’s a huge financial incentive to all of society who are struggling to find ends meat or would just like to finance a holiday, car etc... you can fill in the blanks. The government is encouraging the population to go out stalking our countryside with poisons and weapons for some easy weekend cash incentive. All based on a campaign of fear and propaganda, now weaponised with cash rewards.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not attacking the farmers, they are the victims first and foremost. Although as a vegan I do have some issues with certain farming practices but that discussion is for another time.
This state-sponsored genocide is not improving the farming community’s welfare, the evidence points completely to the opposite outcome. But the information the farmers are being presented with is biased and easily believed especially as the livelihoods of the affected cattle farmers are in the balance and many are forced out of business. This, in turn, frees up the land for ‘other development projects’. Also opening the doors to more industrial American style cattle farming which is on the increase and seems to have slipped under the radar. Hmmm...
Fear is a great motivator for irrational group behaviour.
Fear is a great motivator for irrational group behaviour.
£50 per badger carcass.
Cull figures of 19,274 in 2017 alone, which will undoubtedly increase this year.
Who pays?
Exactly how does this work?
Will we have people turning up at town halls with sacks of badger heads looking for a cash handout?
I shudder to think.
Surely this money would be better spent and probably more effective if a trapping and oral vaccination (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin - BCG) scheme was implemented across the country as has already been trailed for the last three years in Northern Ireland with so far positive results. The results have even been widely approved by farmers. Irish Badger Vaccination trail
Call me a crazy vegan, environmentalist, animal lover, conspiracy nut (t-shirt anyone?). But I’d prefer it if you call me a rationalist who makes conclusions without muddying the waters of scientific enquiry with fear, bloodlust and stupidity.
As a society built on democracy, we must remember that we elect politicians to serve the will of the people and we must make sure they hear us loud and clear when they enact policies and laws against the wishes and consent of the majority.
We must demand better representatives and open and unbiased discourse on such serious matters. If we shy away from these sometimes difficult issues and conversations then as people we invite the tyranny that history has always thrown up when ignored. The people must not acquiesce because the conversation is difficult. We must share our ideas freely without hindrance and fear of judgement.
This is not a left/right argument; this is based on lessons from science and history. The people and our natural heritage deserve much, much better from our elected officials.
We must not take ‘faith’ in what we are told to believe. A critical and enquiring mind is a gift of natural selection and human evolution that separates us from the animal kingdom. It helps us make better choices and leads us to the truth based on evidence. Use it or lose it and face the consequences.
We must never tolerate arguments from ignorance.
We must exercise this freedom while we still have it or we will lose it.
We must also be the guardians of the biodiversity of this planet because we have the biggest influence and demands.
We must leave a stable and safe planet for future generations; it is our individual moral obligation.
Final Conclusions
Solely based on the rigorous scientific findings and analysis, it is obvious that the tragedy of Bovine TB cannot be solved by the eradication of badgers across the country. This is not a viable long-term solution to this 'hot' debate. More studies are required undoubtedly, we can never have too much data. We have to re-think some of our long-term practices in meat production and farming. More funding for implementing an effective vaccination programme, safeguarding not only badgers, farmers but also the delicate balance of our country's biodiversity.
Are we really still at the point of a 'kill everything' attitude when we encounter an environmental problem?
Have we not caused enough damage?
Have we not learnt anything from history?
I sincerely hope we have!
John Hodges
Reference list
Scientific adviser brands badger cull an ‘epic failure’. Sunday Times 6 July 2014
Godfray et al. (2013) A restatement of the natural science evidence base relevant to the control of bovine tuberculosis in Great Britain
Donnelly and Nouvellet (2013) The Contribution of Badgers to Confirmed Tuberculosis in Cattle in High-Incidence Areas in England
Report of the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in 2014 - 2015 in the areas of Somerset and Gloucestershire exposed to two years of industry-led badger control, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/574290/tb-badger-control-second-year-analysis.pdf
Summary of badger control monitoring during 2016 - Updating of minimum and maximum numbers during the cull http://www.bovinetb.info/docs/summary-of-badger-control-monitoring-during-2016-updating-of-minimum-and-maximum-numbers-during-the-cull-annex-a2.pdf
Defra (2011) Bovine TB and Badger Control: Consultation on Guidance to Natural England on the implementation and enforcement of a badger control policy – July 2011.
Woodroffe, R., Donnelly, C.A., Jenkins, H.E., Johnston, W.T., Cox, D.R., Bourne, F.J., Cheeseman, C.L., Delahay, R.J., Clifton-Hadley, R.S., Gettinby, G., Gilks, P., Hewinson, R.G., McInerney, J.P. & Morrison, W.I. (2006) Culling and cattle controls influence tuberculosis risk for badgers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Donnelly CA, Nouvellet P. (2013). The Contribution of Badgers to Confirmed Tuberculosis in Cattle in High-Incidence Areas in England
Woodroffe, R., Donnelly, C.A., Jenkins, H.E., Johnston, W.T., Cox, D.R., Bourne, F.J., Cheeseman, C.L., Delahay, R.J., Clifton-Hadley, R.S., Gettinby, G., Gilks, P., Hewinson, R.G., McInerney, J.P. & Morrison, W.I. (2006) Culling and cattle controls influence tuberculosis risk for badgers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Woodroffe, R., Donnelly, C.A., Wei, G., Cox, D.R., Bourne, F.J., Burke, T., Butlin, R.K., Cheeseman, C.L., Gettinby, G., Gilks, P., Hedges, S., Jenkins, H.E., Johnston, W.T., McInerney, J.P., Morrison, W.I. & Pope, L.C. (2009) Social group size affects Mycobacterium bovis infection in European badgers (Meles eles). Journal of Animal Ecology 78: 818-827.
Trewby, I.D., Wilson, G.J., Delahay, R.J., Walker, N., Young, R., Davison, J., Cheeseman, C., Robertson, P.A., Gorman, M.L. & McDonald, R.A. (2008) Experimental evidence of competitive release in sympatric carnivores. Biology Letters 4: 170-172.
Available here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/51/contents
Available here: http://www.coe.int/en/web/bern-convention
Available here: https://www.slideshare.net/IpsosMORI/the-view-from-westminster-ipsos-mori-m-ps-survey-1978-2014
Available here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13684482
British Veterinary Association (2015) BVA calls for change to badger culling method and wider roll-out in England, available here: https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/News,_campaigns_and_policies/Policies/Farm_animals/Final%20position%20on%20bTB%20and%20badger%20culling%20AGREED%20at%20Council%2015%20April%202015.pdf
18 Available here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/02/badger-cull-experts-call-for-immediate-halt-programme
These figures were provided in response to a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request, which is available in full on the Gov.uk website
Woodroffe, R., Donnelly, C.A., Ham, C., Jackson, S.Y.B., Moyes, K., Chapman, K., Stratton, N.G. & Cartwright, S.J. (2016) Ranging behaviour of badgers Meles meles L. vaccinated with Bacillus Calmette Guerin. Journal of Applied Ecology http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1527401/
Carter et al. (2012) BCG Vaccination Reduces Risk of Tuberculosis Infection in Vaccinated Badgers and Unvaccinated Badger Cubs. PLOS One, 7: e49833
Gormley et al. (2017) Oral Vaccination of Free-Living Badgers (Meles meles) with Bacille Calmette GueÂrin (BCG) Vaccine Confer Protection against Tuberculosis. PLoS ONE, 12: 1-16
Brennan and Christley (2012) Biosecurity on Cattle Farms: A Study in North-West England
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