1.BADGER CULL Matthew Tyler http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02347/page21badger_2347930 a.jpg

2. THE BADGER CULL Reduce Bovine Tuberculosis in British cattle herds Trial run in worst affected areas of Britain Carefully managed, science led study Independent panel to over-see trial No alternative DEFRA (2012) Microsoft Clipart 3. WHAT IS BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS? All sourced from Microsoft Clipart Bovine Tuberculosis, Bovine TB, BTB, TB? Infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis (M.Bovis) The bacterium can also cause TB in deer, goats, pigs, camelids, dogs, cats and many other mammals DEFRA (2012) 4. FACTS & FIGURES 26,000 cattle slaughtered in 2011 as a result of TB 3,688 number of new TB incidents in 2011 (1.8% increase on 2010) 11.5% of cattle were under cattle movement restrictions in 2011 (23.6% in South West) 500 million the amount it has cost the tax payer in the past 10 years (1 billion next ten years) 30,000 average cost of a TB breakdown on a farm, of which 10,000 falls to the farmer DEFRA (2012) The cull would allow land owners to cull up to 70% of the badger population on their land BBC (2012) 5. http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pixies/2012/9/29/1348947992834/Bovine-TB- spreading-002.jpg 6. THE SPREAD OF BOVINE TB We can see from this diagram that The disease has spread rapidly out of control over the past few decades The most drastic increase was seen at the start of the new millennium The south west including areas of England and Wales, including Somerset, Cornwall and Devon is the worst effected area. Hone & Donnelly (2008) http://static.guim.co.uk/sys- images/Guardian/Pix/pixies/2012/9/29/134 8947992834/Bovine-TB-spreading-002.jpg 7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gf92dEPnTU 8. THE ARGUMENT FOR AGAINST Badgers can and do carry bovine TB and can pass it on to cattle A scientific review carried out in 1997 by Professor John Krebs concluded that there was compelling evidence for badger-to-cow TB transmission. A cull makes scapegoats of badgers, while not addressing the main problem cow-to-cow transmission. Between the mid-1930s and mid-1960s, testing and removal of infected cattle pushed national infection rates down from around four in 10 to less than one in 1,000.Country File (2012) Krebs (2008) Darbyshire et al (2002) Hone et al (2008) 9. FOR AGAINST The existing regime of testing and removal has failed to halt the rise in cases. While infected badgers are on a farm, cattle are at risk. The cost of compensating farmers for the removal of TB reactors keeps growing. Leading scientists, including former government advisor Sir David King, say it would have a significant effect on reducing TB in cattle. Many believe culling thousands of animals that are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 would be unethical. Improvements to the way cattle are tested and practical measures to keep cattle and badgers apart (such as electric fences around farm buildings) would cut infection rates. Country File (2012) Krebs (2008) Darbyshire et al (2002) Hone et al (2008) 10. CONCLUSION Despite large protests it seems the trial will go ahead next year Until another solution is found, for many the cull will be the only way The badger vaccination scheme is currently being trial run in parts of Glostershire and may also be used by the Government as a way of stemming the spread of TB. The badger population has spread to record highs in some areas, even if badgers arent culled to prevent TB, some feel that something should be done to manage their population.FERA (2012) 11. REFERENCES British Broadcasting Corporation. (2012) Taunton Deane Borough Council 'neutral' on badger cull. [online] London: British Broadcasting Corporation. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-19808962 [Accessed 2nd October 2012]. Country File (2012) Badgers: To cull or not to cull. [online] London: British Broadcasting Corporation. Available from: http://www.countryfile.com/countryside/badgers-cull-or-not-cull [Accessed 2nd October 2012]. Darbyshire, J. & Campbell, L. (2002) Badgers. 2nd Ed. Moray, Scotland: Colin Baxter Photography. Hone, J. & Donnelly, C. (2008) Evaluation Evidence Of Associated Of Bovine Tuberculosis In Cattle And Badgers. Journal of Applied Ecology. 45, 1660-1666. Krebs, C.J. (2008) The Ecological World View. Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. (2012) Animal Diseases- Bovine TB (tuberculosis). [online] London: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Available from: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/a- z/bovine-tb/ [Accessed 8th October 2012]. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. (2012) Badgers and bovine tb. [online] London: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Available from: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal-diseases/a-z/bovine-tb/badgers/ [Accessed 8th October 2012]. 12. REFERENCES The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. (2012) Controlling the disease the Governments approach. [online] London: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Available from: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animal- diseases/a-z/bovine-tb/controls/ [Accessed 12th October 2012]. The Food and Environment Research Agency. (2012) Badger vaccine deployment project. [online] London: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. Available from: http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk/wildlife/ecologyManagement/bvdp/ [Accessed 13th October 2012]. Vicente, J. Delahay, R. J. Walker, N. J. Cheeseman, C. L. (2007) Social Organisation and Movement Influencing the Incidents of Bovine Tuberculosis in an undisturbed High-Density Badger Meles meles population. Journal Of Animal Ecology. 76 (2), 348 360. Woods, M. (2010) The Badger. 2nd Ed. Southampton: The Mammal Society. 13. QUESTIONS __________________