Tesco has been forced to clarify its policy on plans for a controversial badger cull in England, after one of the company’s customer services managers sent out a letter claiming it would not source from any suppliers involved in the cull.

In response to a query from a member of the public, the customer services manager stated that Tesco had “a strict policy of not sourcing from any suppliers that are involved in, or financially benefit from, this practice.”

In the letter, which has since turned out to be a mistake, the manager wrote, “We understand the concerns you have about the badger cull. I would like to assure you that none of the suppliers we source from take part in this activity.”

Tesco has since announced that this is not the case. The company said it has no official policy on the badger cull. A Tesco spokesperson told Farming Online “The approach to tackling bovine TB is a matter for government and the farming community.”

The spokesperson said, “We are sorry that the customer was given the wrong information,” though refused to give any further details or comment on how the confusion had arisen.

Tesco stated on its Facebook page on Thursday, last week, that, “Working with our suppliers, our top priority is the high standards of animal welfare on all the farms that supply us. we understand that bTB is one of Britain's biggest endemic animal health issues and that it needs to be addressed, so we are currently looking at ways our collaboration with the University of Liverpool can have some impact on this devastating disease.”

By the time Tesco announced the retraction, however, the letter had gained widespread support from opponents to the cull and the company had been praised for taking a stand. The opponents  spread its message through social networking sites such as twitter, publicising the mistaken manager’s sentiments. The letter can be read in full here.

Asda adds to the confusion

On Tuesday (2 August), an Asda spokesperson confirmed to a customer that the company supports the cull proposals. The customer, who posted the supermarket’s response online, said such a partisan comment could backfire on Asda, as it was delivered before the public response to the badger cull has been announced.

A member of Asda’s service team, in response to a query over the company’s stance on the proposed cull, confirmed that it supported measures to “eradicate bovine TB through the implementation of a carefully managed science-led programme of badger control.”

However, another member of the service team told Farming Online today that Asda did not explicitly support a cull. The spokesperson said, “Please be assured, Asda are not in favour of the government plans to address bovine TB, contrary to the rumours circulating on the internet.

"ASDA understands the issues associated with Bovine TB and the devastating consequences it can cause to livestock and wildlife.

"The Government is working to address the issues and as yet ASDA has not been asked to participate nor for a view.

We would wish for a science based solution that is acceptable to the majority of our customers."

Meanwhile the 38degrees campaign has now gathered over 20 thousand signatures for the petition to stop the plan to shoot badgers; there appears to be no alternative petition organised to support the cull.

The impact of bTB on the farming community is colossal and there is no doubting the stress caused to livestock farmers when their cattle are found to be infected. This quote from the Farm Crisis Network on the impact of bTB epitomises the situation, “Financially it is very stressful. Cash flow is a huge problem. Having to keep animals when I would normally sell them puts more pressure on me, on my family, animal accommodation and feed costs. I don’t know how long we can keep going.”

A major cost incurred by farmers as a result of the Tb control programme is that associated with a herd restriction as a result of a Tb incident. When one or more reactor cattle are detected in a previously Tb-free herd, the herd is put under movement restriction so that no cattle can move on or off the premises except under a licence issued by the district veterinary manager.

The reactor animals must be isolated from the rest of the herd until they are sent for compulsory slaughter. Any inconclusive reactors in the herd must also be isolated from the rest of the herd and the reactor animals. Defra state that nearly 25,000 cattle were slaughtered in England in 2010 because of bovine TB, which cost the country £90 million that year. The problem is particularly bad in west and south-west England, where 23 per cent of cattle farms were unable to move stock off their premises at some point in 2010 due to being affected by the disease.

So do the comments from the major supermarkets as above help or hinder the debate? As it stands they just add a layer of confusion with the general public.