BREAKING NEWS: Badger cull plan to go ahead (From Western Telegraph)

Rural Affairs Minister introduces new measures in TB control

11:59am Wednesday 9th March 2011 in News

The culling of badgers by the Welsh Assembly in an area of north Pembrokeshire will go ahead the Rural Affairs Minister says.

Elin Jones AM has introduced two more elements to the Assembly’s programme to eradicate bovine TB from Wales.

She has laid the Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011, authorising the destruction of badgers in a specific area of west Wales known as the Intensive Action Area. “Over the past three years, the management of bovine TB in Wales has been transformed thanks to our comprehensive approach to dealing with the disease. Farmers, vets, valuers and Animal Health in Wales have all worked with us to bring about significant changes to how the disease is dealt with in cattle.

“After full consideration of the evidence presented to me, including consideration of the responses to the recent Consultation on Badger Control in the Intensive Action Area, I have reached the decision to proceed with legislation which would enable a government led cull of badgers in the Intensive Action Area.

“I am aware that this decision will cause some people genuine concern, but it is a decision I have taken based on full consideration of the matter. The evidence presented to me will be made public on the Welsh Assembly Government website,” said Mrs Jones. The new measures contribute to a comprehensive package of measures put in place over the past three years, including improved surveillance and cattle disease controls, linking compensation to good practice, enforcing the testing regime, and establishing a regional approach to the disease.

The Minister has also announced new controls to deal with TB in non-bovines, which include camelids, goats and deer.

“Another part of our comprehensive approach is dealing effectively with the risks associated with bovine TB in non-bovines, such as goats, deer and camelids. I am, today, putting the prevention and management of incidents of bovine TB in these species on a similar footing to the arrangements already in place for cattle.

“The Order will introduce controls to help prevent the spread of disease and provide for compensation to be paid when these animals are slaughtered due to bovine TB,” she added.

The decision to go ahead with a badger cill has been welcomed by the Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW).

“It marks an important step towards reducing bovine TB (bTB) incidences in an area that has one of the highest rates of the disease in Europe,” said Brian Walters a Carmarthenshire farmer and the FUW’s bTB spokesman.

He added that the approach promoted by Elin Jones has been shown to reduce the chances of cattle being infected with bTB.

“The Badger (Control Area) (Wales) Order 2011 she has laid before the Assembly today allows culling in one part of Wales in a way which will reduce badger numbers rather than eradicate them.

“It seems likely that the order will be debated by the Assembly in the coming weeks, and we hope that AMs will have the same resolve as that shown by the Minister and the Welsh Assembly Government.

“The only thing which as changed since previous votes is that further scientific analysis has shown culling to be even more effective at stopping bTB over a prolonged period than was previously thought.”

The RSPCA has said it is deeply disappointed to learn that “contentious” plans for a badger cull in Wales have been given the go ahead.

It says that the cull could lead to the virtual elimination of badgers from an area of nearly 300 square kilometres.

The RSPCA has always been firmly opposed to the proposed cull in Wales.

It believes that vaccination, increased levels of testing, improved biosecurity and stricter controls on the movement of cattle are more sustainable and effective ways of reducing the incidence of bovine TB in cattle.

Senior wildlife scientist Colin Booty said: “The RSPCA is saddened to hear that the Welsh government has decided to go down the road of a cull after all.

“We believe that this is a dead end policy in every respect. Not only will it result in the death of at least 70% of badgers from the cull area, but it will not resolve the problem in other areas of Wales.

“Geographical features which exist in the Pembrokeshire area mean that such a policy cannot be rolled out for use elsewhere in all the TB affected areas of Wales. In addition, The Independent Scientific Group concluded that the elimination of badgers across large areas was not a feasible control option.

“A couple of thousand badgers will be killed and the attempt to find a solution to bovine TB in cattle in Wales will still be at a dead-end.”

The Badger Trust says it is deeply disappointed that “misconceived and counterproductive proposals to authorise the destruction of badgers in an area of Wales” have been resurrected.

“This is despite significant reductions in bovine tuberculosis over the last two years,” a spokesman said.

“Elin Jones, the Rural Affairs Minister, sought to justify a badger cull as somehow necessary to complement the range of measures already in place.

“The Trust will be studying the evidence presented to the Minister in detail and will seek legal advice in relation to the latest decision, which may also be subject to a challenge in the Welsh Assembly. “In a statement to Farmer’s Weekly Interactive, the Minister does concede that there have been improvements in TB figures in the area. This reduction has taken place over two years without any badgers having been destroyed.

“The Minister seeks to underplay the significance of these results by claiming that there has been a cyclical pattern in the past. However, the Trust emphasises that this pattern was before the current stringent and effective cattle controls were introduced and took effect.

“These measures included improved surveillance and cattle disease controls, linking compensation to good practice, enforcing the testing regime, and establishing a regional approach to the disease. The Badger Trust has recommended these measures for some time and believes that they should be given sufficient time to continue to make their impact, before such draconian action as a badger cull is contemplated.”