Badger cull is ill-conceived and irresponsible according to the Badger Trust

Whilst the Government has sanctioned a badger cull, Wildlife Trusts are pressing ahead with a vaccination campaign. 

Wildlife Trust bolsters vaccination programme

February 2013. The Coalition's decision to press ahead with two pilot culls - at a time when more new research has challenged assumptions about the badger's role in bTB--shows contempt for public and scientific opinion, says the Badger Trust.

"Thousands of healthy badgers will die or be wounded in a night-time fusillade of rifle fire that will kill and wound and put members of the public at real risk," says Badger Trust chairman David Williams.

Minimal reduction in TB over 9 years
"And for what? At best a minimal reduction in bovine TB levels over nine years, a time span which could see huge advances in vaccination-for cattle and badgers-and the emergence of a scientifically validated bTB control mechanism.

"Owen Paterson has chosen in the past to cherry pick bits of peer-reviewed science in a vain attempt to justify his decision. He is now blundering ahead in the face of yet more research, this time from Durham University, which further undermines his rationale."

Professor Peter Atkins, of the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience, has concluded that a widespread badger cull will not solve the problem of tuberculosis in cattle. He says: "Badgers almost certainly play a part in spreading the disease, but my conclusion is that their impact over the decades has been far less than suggested."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/badger-cull-2013.html