Badgers appear to have some
respite at present, but only until next summer if the government gets its way.
RSPB's Badger cull response
As the government postpones
the controversial badger cull to next summer, the RSPB says it is time to
reconsider the idea of a vaccination programme.
The Environment Secretary's
announcement today about the postponement of the badger cull has been welcomed
by the charity, and the society's conservation director, Martin Harper, said:
“The prospective culls have proved to be extremely divisive. The science
suggests that culling will not deliver the solution to this serious and urgent
problem. Today’s announcement suggests that farmers and badgers will be
in exactly the same situation next summer.
"This window gives Owen Paterson [the environment secretary] an
opportunity to lead the Government out of this muddle by embracing a
vaccination programme, giving a lifeline to livestock farmers and badgers.”
Mr Paterson made the
announcement of the end of this year's planned badger cull, aimed at
eradicating bovine tuberculosis which costs farmers millions of pounds every
year, in parliament yesterday. He claimed that farmers would not be able to
carry out the cull so close to the onset of winter now, and that the badger
population had been underestimated. He also blamed the wet summer, insufficient
policing due to the Olympic Games and the costly and time-consuming legal
challenges to the cull.
The government insists there
has been no change of policy, but the majority of scientists and the public are
against the cull and the threat of legal action remains once the plans are
reinstated.
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!