Should badgers be culled?

Cases of TB-infected cattle have soared in recent years and farmers believe badgers are responsible for the spread of the disease.

The government is testing the effectiveness of different badger culling policies as part of its strategy in the research and control of tuberculoses.

Some farmers want immediate action now, saying that the link between badgers and TB in cattle is proven. Animal rights activists say there is no firm scientific evidence and have used direct action in the past.

Should research be continued as scheduled? Is a more radical culling programme needed? Or should the culling stop altogether?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

I think the farmers should wait for conclusive tests before they jump to conclusions.
Michael Kemp, England

Obviously the Department of Agriculture believes "If in doubt kill it"

Claire Duffie, N. Ireland

I thought badgers had been given protected status only a few years back. Can this simply be dispensed with so easily? I was also intrigued to hear that the badger cull would be carried out and then an observation carried out to see if cattle TB figures had reduced. Obviously the Department of Agriculture believes "If in doubt kill it".
Claire Duffie, N. Ireland

What about genetically modifying the badgers so they become social beasts. Then we can herd them into designated "badger fields", while the cows masticate in a distant meadow. Badger herding could be a useful adjunct in reducing rural unemployment!
Tom Brucia, USA

Protect the badgers and force farmers to switch to organic methods

MN, UK

I'm a meat eating country dweller (always have been) and would just like to say stop turning this into a town v country issue. It isn't just townies who are sick of farmers and their God complex! Our local pub literally empties when any of them enters. Protect the badgers and force farmers to switch to organic methods. If they don't like it then let them re-train and work in another industry. I'm also sure that I'm not the only one who finds untamed woodland, moors and meadows far more beautiful than the intensively farmed countryside (I'm sure the wildlife would also agree). Many people who live in the country aren't dependent on it, and the countryside isn't dependent on us, we just hinder and ruin it (as is being seen time and time again).
MN, UK

The people complaining about the badger cull would also whinge about any research to test out infecting cattle with infected badger tissue. Although I disagree with the cull of badgers, I feel that the use of a limited number of animals, both badgers and cows in this type of research, would finally demonstrate if there is a link.
Jon, UK

Remember that TB is not confined to badgers and cattle. Many animals can catch TB - including mice, rats, deer and birds. When a TB outbreak occurs on a farm in the USA, the authorities demand that a rat extermination programme takes place on the farm, and deer are fenced-off well away from cattle. Until MAFF do some serious research, we should stop killing poor old Brock.
Simon, England

The vast majority of people here believe that all farmers are rich and cause immense damage to the food chain by feeding animals antibiotics and killing wildlife. I will not defend the farmers; a lot of actions have been carried out in the past without full consideration, but most people do not understand the wider issues of why a lot of these incidents occur. In general, most of this behaviour is due to EU subsidies. These were brought in for two reasons - a) to protect EU farmland and countryside, and b) to price food at a level cheap enough for the poor in society to afford.

I support the view that the consequences of any action should be understood first, and this equally applies to badger culling. However, people in this forum are saying that we should cut the subsidies and cull the farmer. The consequences: loss of countryside; more countryside population moving to the cities leading to further building of new homes on greenbelt sites; MUCH more intensive farming methods; and higher food prices. But then, who cares about the consequences, right?
Steve, UK

Speak with your money

Michael Gahan, Ireland

I think the problem is ignorance. Those supporting the culling are looking for a scapegoat and quick solution, those who are against the culling are just reacting to the image of cuddly badgers being killed. The truth is that there is always more than meets the eye, intensive farming has led to risk taking that is unacceptable, be it dangerous feed, growth hormones or chemicals, it is all a result of the need for profit, and the need to meet demands. There is a possibility that badgers play a role in the spread of TB, but I doubt it is the greater evil. Both the farmers and the consumers need to use their purchasing power for quality and not quantity. I don't mind paying more money for some beef if it means that it is safe and of good quality. Speak with your money - it is the only thing people listen to and it has the loudest voice.
Michael Gahan, Ireland

How can people be so narrow-minded and ignorant about issues in the countryside when the majority of those who complain are city dwellers who have no idea of the hardship farmers are experiencing. If you are demanding cheap food then farming intensively is the obvious option. Maybe some people can afford to spend a lot on food, those on low incomes have no choice. As for badger culling, can you imagine if TB could be passed to humans and it was discovered that it was passed from badgers to cows and to humans (through milk or meat), then I think things might be slightly different.

Britain's farmers produce food under some of the strictest regulations in the world so I think calls for "farmers needing to clean up" is a somewhat ignorant comment. Spare a thought for those farmers who have lost everything, money, livelihoods, houses and land over the past few years - if you knew people who it had happened to then may be you would think again before condemning them so readily.
Lucy Masters, UK

What an extreme assortment of letters this has attracted! Having read them all, it seems (as always) that people "know" all the "facts" - which clearly cannot be because there are diametrically opposing "facts" being asserted! Perhaps, therefore, the problem is with ourselves ... shall we badger the farmers or farm the badgers?
Mark M. Newdick, USA/UK

It is the consumer not the farmer who is ultimately at fault here

Charlie, England

The comments so far appear to be coming from town and city dwellers, who think that food comes in plastic trays from a supermarket. If they continue to demand cheaper and cheaper food then they must understand the consequences. It is the consumer not the farmer who is ultimately at fault here. Demand top quality by all means - but pay the proper price for it. Then the farmers will have an income high enough to deal with these issues themselves, without resorting to subsidies. To view this issue as a badger rights issues to total nonsense.
Charlie, England

The report says that cases of TB-infected cattle have soared in recent years. Is this true or is it that MAFF have been checking more cattle for TB and so found more cases? Now the farmers are microbiologists as well and are airing their new-found knowledge! I think that basically what the farmers want is more subsidies because their Range Rovers and Jaguars need fuel which is more expensive now! There should be a lot more research into TB in cattle and why they have it in the first place. It isn't just from the badgers so culling them will only serve to endanger yet another indigenous species in our islands.
John C., Warwick, England

Farmers are closer to the environment than most of us will ever be. I would bet that they are concerned, but may have limited resources to deal with complicated environmental issues. Farming is an essential part of any country's survival. It is imperative that farmers be respected and educated and, more importantly, supported by their fellow citizens and their government agencies.

Culling the badgers sounds like a knee jerk reaction to a complicated environmental problem. How about vaccinating the cattle or getting more reliable testing. How is the TB actually spread from badger to cattle? Or are cattle spreading this bacteria to the badgers? Or is it a vicious cycle? Perhaps there is a more humane and effective way to treat this problem. A little research could go a long way.
Faye, USA

Assuming that badgers are the source of TB to cattle then farmers are responsible for creating it. By removing hedgerows to increase the size of fields farmers have allowed badgers to come into contact with their cattle. All animals form a vital part of nature and are necessary to sustain it. Culling badgers makes things worse, not better.
Paul Jonas, UK

Farmers maybe having it tough now, but all through the 70s and 80s they were in clover. I grew up in a farming area and all the farmers (except tenant farmers) had kids at public school, new cars every two years, foreign holidays and so on, in the time when they were sowing the seeds of their own demise by becoming more and more intensive in their methods. There was no sympathy from them for miners and steelworkers then, so why should anyone have any sympathy for them now?
Julian, Wiltshire

Again mankind sets itself up as God

Steve Wilkinson, UK

Again mankind sets itself up as God. What right have we to exterminate a another creature for our gain? There is not even a proven link between badgers and the spread of TB.
Steve Wilkinson, UK

It seems to be escaping the notice of farmers, MAFF and the Government that the outbreak of MANY diseases in cattle is increasing not just TB. This is a husbandry problem, the farmers need to clean up their act. The other point that seems to get passed by is that Bovine TB is in isolated areas not countrywide. It is spreading but that is because cattle move round the country not badgers.
Valerie Smith, UK

Britain, due in main to its history, population density and geographical isolation has long since lost much of its natural animal population. The badger is one of the largest mammals living wild in the UK and as such it should be treated with respect and care. Even the proposal of culling smacks of anachronistic attitudes and is evidence of a failure to learn from past mistakes.
Andrew Evans, UK/ USA

Cull the badgers now

Jeremy, UK

Cull the badgers now. There are far too many of them in many parts of the country and they have become a pest digging up fields, stealing lambs etc. They are a beautiful animal and should not be indiscriminately wiped out but they are literally overrunning many farms in the UK and have become a real danger. The debate seems very one-sided, probably because most famers are out working in the fields trying to make up for the fact that incomes have fallen by as much as 90% in the last 18 months.
Jeremy, UK

When TB breaks out in a herd, presumably a vet is called in. Do they disinfect their wellies before setting off for the next cattle farm?
David D, UK

I drive through farmland on my way to work and recently noticed a dead badger in a field of cows, who were sniffing at it with some interest. The cadaver stayed there either unnoticed or ignored by the farmer who couldn't have failed to notice it if he had driven or walked past his own fence, and the last time I saw it there was just a flat, rotting pelt left on the grass. If I suspected there was a corpse in my garden which might also be a carrier of a disease which would kill my household pets, I'd get it cleared away fast.
Diana Pinnell, UK

The cull is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut

Tony Gosling, UK

The incidence of TB is caused by a lowering in the cow's immunes system by farm chemicals such as organophosphates - I have no doubt about this. Why is it that in organic herds, which don't use systemic pesticides - incidence of TB is virtually nil! If anyone can find an organic beef or dairy farmer with a higher than acceptable incidence of TB I'll eat my words - but I'll bet no-one can. Organic farmers know this but non-organic farmers don't want to accept that the chemicals they use could be so harmful. The cull is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Withdraw pesticides and let's return to subsidy free natural farming methods and the badger cullers can all go home!
Tony Gosling, UK

Believe me the "save the badger brigade" are in complete denial on this issue. The evidence is quite clear: badgers give TB to cattle. The only question is how big an influence they are and whether killing them is the most cost effective method of controlling the disease. And its not just farmers who think this, I've never set foot on a farm in my life. I really wish the activists and the "aren't they so nice and cuddly crew" would take a more objective view of this issue instead of letting their love of the animal get in the way of the hard truth.
Oscar, London, UK

Can you think of anything done by British farmers in the last 30 years which didn't turn out horribly? In my experience, when farmers want to do something, ordinary people suffer. Look at BSE, crop spraying, organophosphates, salmonella, poisoning streams with silage etc. To make it worse, when farmers wreck something (or themselves), ordinary taxpayers have to bail them out.
Domini Connor, UK

Killing badgers is not acceptable. Vaccinating badgers is a good idea but it may not be technically possible to find and catch them. Vaccinate the cows and properly label all meat and meat products that contains vaccinations or any other chemicals. This gives the public the choice to eat them or not.
Robert H, London

Why don't some of you talk to the farmers and find out why they are "whinging", if we don't, British farmers will become a dying breed. I am a farmer's son who choose not to follow my father's footsteps because I saw the long hours he worked, in the rain and the muck, with sweat and blood, all for a LOT LESS money than average earnings and the general publics hatred. Its true large farm owners are ok, however, small to medium farmers cannot comp with this country's bureaucracy and high costs when they are compared to their neighbours in Europe.

People should see this cry as not a cry from farmers to cull badgers, but for help to cull TB before yet again they loose more of their livelihoods.
Steve, UK, Surrey

MAFF spend tens of millions to kill badgers

Mary, Lancashire, England

MAFF spend tens of millions to kill badgers and pays less-than-adequate compensation to farmers whose cattle are compulsorily killed. However, the "skin-prick" test is only 60% accurate, meaning that many cows are needlessly killed, and other cows with TB can go undetected. If MAFF paid for accurate tests and vaccines to be developed, they wouldn't need to be killing all these animals and forking out all this compensation every year.
Mary, Lancashire, England

Research should continue and badgers should be protected until it is established whether or not they are the carriers of TB.
Rowena Carpenter, UK

How about immunising the cows against TB?
Suraj, UK

The so-called experiment of culling will needlessly kill more than 20,000 badgers and is scientifically flawed. Not to worry though, Professor Krebs (who had the idea to kill your badgers) is now in charge of the safety of your food! Bon appetite!!
Alan, Lancashire

The whinging British farmer strikes again

Derek, ex-pat, Brazil

The whinging British farmer strikes again. He knows that the poor old fox has just about been protected from being chased ragged across the countryside, they got the rabbits with myxomatosis and now they start on the poor old Brock. Who or what next I wonder? A pity they weren't so adept at accepting the link between BSE and un-cattle like feed, as they are the possible link between cattle TB and the badger. I'm for the Brock staying free from any cull. I'm with Mark B, let's hunt the farmers for a change.
Derek, ex-pat, Brazil

If we change fox hunting to 'badger hunting', we will placate all those who want to see an end to fox hunting, while still preserving the 'sport of hunting' and all those jobs which depend on it, AND cull the badger population in one foul swoop. But wait... 'Who's grooming the badgers for the badger parade...?'
Dean, UK

Why do we have any farmers? They can't survive without extensive subsidy and artificially inflated prices and their caretaking of the countryside seems to consist of songbird extinction, badger culling and foxhunting. I'd rather my taxes went to public services and Third World food producers were allowed to compete on an even playing field.
James, UK

Animal husbandry plays a large part in the TB issue

Keith, UK

There is still no direct scientific evidence that badgers can pass TB to cattle, although it has been known for years that badgers catch TB FROM cattle. MAFF have been culling badgers since 1971, and it has not decreased the level of TB found where culling has taken place. It is high time that MAFF and others accept that animal husbandry plays a large part in the TB issue, and investigated this instead, as well as concentrating efforts in producing a viable vaccine for cattle and/or badgers. The culling should stop NOW!
Keith, UK

The badger removal program has been shown to be ineffective, since there are possibly other animal carriers, the best source of action should be the wide-scale vaccination of cows and badgers, as this will most likely have the wanted effect and not disturb too much the wild badger population.
Andrew Wingate, England

Livestock prices, diesel prices and now badgers. Why don't we have an organised culling of farmers to curtail the spread of whinging? I'll happily play my part.
Mark B, UK

Now is the time for farmers to thoroughly examine their own practices

Laura, UK

Farmers are always ready to blame anyone/anything else for problems that occur in the farming industry. With continual reports on BSE, antibiotics in feed, outbreaks of disease etc perhaps now is the time for farmers to thoroughly examine their own practices before finding yet another scapegoat.
Laura, UK

A letter was published in the Irish Times some years ago on this subject. It was from a man who worked in a university science lab that used wild caught rabbits in first-year undergraduate dissections. He reported that he had never received a rabbit that did not have TB. At the time badgers were being gassed by farmers in response to newspaper stories about badgers and TB.
PJ, Ireland

Even if the badgers are to blame, should they be culled? Shall we just kill everything that doesn't fit in with our sterilised countryside? It is intensive farming methods which are to blame, as usual, along with the attitude that if it doesn't directly benefit us then it is expendable. I heard a farmer on Radio 4 the other day claiming boars which have escaped from boar farms and become wild (about 300 of them) should be culled because a) this country isn't big enough to support a wild boar population (300!) and b) someone might hit one of them in a car. Should we use the same criteria for deer, foxes, songbirds, tress etc. I say cull the farmers.
Russ, UK

Such activities may firstly not eradicate the problem if badgers are not to blame and secondly may introduce new problems; There is no way of knowing what the effect of this extensive badger culling is having on the rest of our delicate eco-system. We must research both this issues before its too late.
Helen, UK

Can we firstly confirm what is causing the rise in Bovine TB

Gerry, Scotland

Whilst bovine tuberculosis can be carried by Badgers it can also be carried by Deer and caused by poor animal husbandry. Before culling can we firstly confirm what is causing the rise in Bovine TB.
Gerry, Scotland

Why do the innocent always have to suffer for our inability to co-exist with nature? It is the human race that is the parasite on this planet.
Dave, UK

How are we to know if the badgers are to blame and not the farmers feeding the cows with all sorts of antibiotics, which would make the animals susceptible to all sorts of diseases?
Anon, Norway