Princess is wrong to back badger gassing
Reports that Princess Anne would back the gassing of badgers, rather than shooting, as part of a cull to reduce bovine TB have caused outrage and disappointment.
Reports that Princess Anne would back the gassing of badgers, rather than shooting, as part of a cull to reduce bovine TB have caused outrage and disappointment.
Dominic Dyer, CEO of the Badger Trust and Policy Advisor to Care for the Wild, said:
“The anti-badger cull protest movement is one of the biggest we’ve ever seen, so if Ministers want to ensure it gets even bigger, then go ahead and start gassing. The cull is already massively unpopular, but it’ll be reviled by millions of right-thinking people around the country.
“But talk of gassing and of cats with TB is all a distraction from what’s really happening. We’ve seen huge reductions in the amount of cattle with TB in areas where they have purely focussed on better farming controls and disease testing. That might not be as sexy a headline, but it’s where we’ll beat this disease, for the benefit of farmers and badgers alike.
“On the surface, gassing might sound like a preferable alternative to shooting, which can wound rather than kill. But in reality gassing would be equally awful – badgers are tough little bear-like creatures and they’re not going to lie down quietly. They’ll be trying to escape, they’ll be digging their way out, and they’ll be suffering intensely.
“Cyanide gas was used to kill badgers in the 1970s, leading to a huge public outcry, and there were hugely controversial trials of gassing techniques using ferrets and badgers at Porton Down in 1982, which led Tory Agriculture Ministers to demand an immediate stop to all gassing research.”
One Response to Princess is wrong to back badger gassing