BBC accepts it was wrong to state that badger culling in Republic Ireland reduced TB in cattle
In a ground-breaking decision the BBC today accepted it was wrong to state that badger culling in the Republic of Ireland had reduced incidences of TB in cattle. The statement was following a complaint from a member of the public concerning an article published on the BBC Website on the 31st May 2013 “How did […]
Green Party calls for Environment Secretary Owen Paterson to be sacked
Professor Molly Scott-Cato, leading Green Party MEP candidate for South West, the region which has borne the brunt of the Environment Secretary’s ill-judged policies, says Paterson’s handling of the flooding is the “final straw”. The Greens cite a string of failures which demonstrate his inability to fulfill his role as head of the Department for […]
The £7m Badger Cull – shock figures reveal each dead badger cost £4000+
Culling badgers in England during 2013 cost £7.3million, according to official sources and FOI requests – which works out at £4121 per dead badger. Wildlife charity Care for the Wild has pieced together the costs of the cull from various sources to come up with the ‘final reckoning’ of the cull, which dramatically failed to […]
‘Secret’ report on badger cull revealed by FOI
A ‘secret’ report on the badger cull trials has been produced by Defra and Natural England, according to an FOI request – prior to the official Independent Panel Review which was meant to investigate the policy. Care for the Wild has become aware of this report via a Freedom of Information Request, and has informed […]
George calls for badger cull to be scrapped
Mr George who strongly argues in favour of ‘evidence-based policy making’, pointed out that he had supported the randomised badger control trials (RBCT) which commenced in 1998 and which included a much-disputed controversial pro-active cull of badgers in the Penwith area of his own constituency because he argued that the experiment was necessary to provide […]
Whisper it quietly, Defra: TB cattle slaughter rates down by nearly 10% on 2012
From the start of this year, under pressure from the European Commission, the Government has forced farmers to tighten down on biosecurity controls, cattle movements and TB testing. As a result, we have seen a steady decline in the rates of TB in cattle compared to the same period in 2012. Comparing the latest DEFRA […]
Badger cull called off – for now
Natural England, which is managing the cull, is pulling the plug on shooting as of tomorrow (Saturday) lunchtime. A revised target of killing 58% of badgers in the zone had been set following the initial cull period, but this has also been missed by the gunmen. Dominic Dyer, Policy Advisor for Care for the Wild, […]
Claims that ‘high number of badgers are sick’ undermined by Welsh research
Consistent claims by the UK government that badgers are very sick with TB and at a high risk of spreading disease to other badgers and cattle have been shot to pieces by statistics from the Welsh Government Badger Vaccination Project. Environment Minister Owen Paterson has justified the current badger cull many times by claiming or […]
Cattle-to-cattle outbreak in Durham gets to heart of bTB problem
Reported in the Northern Echo, farmers are quoted as being “unhappy that cattle from infected with TB were brought here from a high-risk area”. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, which works with Defra, said: “It is believed that the infection was inadvertently carried in cattle bought from a high risk area of the […]
