That makes a lot of sense

By Andrew Gray (local userpage) (p1140372) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Andrew Gray (local userpage) (p1140372) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The pilot badger cull was inhumane and  ineffective.

The NFU says that farmers are ‘bitterly disappointed’ that it won’t be rolled out further.

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8 Replies to “That makes a lot of sense”

  1. So the IEP panel has basically established that being shot can cause considerable suffering and therefore be a problem for animal welfare.

    Although it is arguable that shooting wildlife is sometimes necessary surely there is a basic principle here – which is that because it cases suffering it should have to be justified.

    Isn’t it time therefore that we had a law which made it illegal to wilfully cause any wild mammal – and perhaps even wild bird undue suffering?

  2. Princess Anne will be on Countryfile this week and is going to say she believes gassing badgers is the most humane way to control their numbers and halt the spread of bovine TB.
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10743863/Princess-Anne-gassing-is-the-best-way-to-cull-badgers.html

    Is this the BBC giving the same weight to lobbyists views with no evidence or expertise as to scientists again?
    http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/mps-accuse-bbc-of-creating-false-balance-on-climate-change-with-unqualified-sceptics-9231176.html

    1. I think it’s a reasonable belief which surely cold be verified scientifically, it probably depends on the type of gas used and how it is administered. The primary question of course is whether they should be culled in the first place. If one decides to cull then their probably is no practical method which involves no suffering.

    2. “Is this the BBC giving the same weight to lobbyists views with no evidence or expertise as to scientists again?”

      No – unless you are saying that The Princess Royal is a lobbyist.

      The obsession with qualifications or occupation is baffling. It is a distraction technique – an oblique form of ad hominem attack. Einstein was a Patent Clerk when he had papers published in the Annalen der Physik scientific journal in 1905.

      It is the message that is important, not the messenger.

  3. It must surely make more sense that on farms where cattle are slaughtered as reactors then Badgers there are also culled and the only way seems to be gassing,this way would mean a far greater % of infected Badgers were culled.
    It simply is more sensible than a cull in a area where it is simply luck whether infected Badgers are shot.vaccination is not a option for infected Badgers.
    How is there any sense where cattle are reactors and slaughtered to leave Badgers there to infect more cattle and Badgers.

  4. There was an item on radio 4 this morning about badger culling. It was said that the cull would go ahead in 2 counties and that the fault last time was that there was insufficient equipment ie night sights and lack of training ie how to shoot
    http://www.suffolkfreepress.co.uk/news/national/badger-culls-to-continue-this-year-1-5978271
    I thought this badger cull had been put to bed after the earlier disasters, but no, and apparently this government have a 25 year plan as to how to deal with badgers in relation to bovine TB.

    1. Dave – that’s tight. Despite the abject failure of the pilot it’s full steam ahead in the initial two areas. The general election is on 7 May next year.

    2. There is a slight difference in the cull this year. There will be no independent oversight to assess how well it is performed.

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