The badger cull, which has proven to be yet another acutely controversial policy in a series of unpopular decisions made by Defra, will be the subject of a Parliamentary debate later this month. After an e-petition by former Queen guitarist and animal welfare campaigner Brian May received the necessary 100,000 signatures required to make his subject eligible for debate just a few days after its launch, opponents have been granted the first debate on the cull.

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Although Defra maintains that culling is an essential part of tackling bovine TB in cattle, opposition to the policy is widespread. The scientists behind trial culls conducted under the Labour government have rejected the current government's proposals as ineffectual and inhumane.

Cull opponents maintain that better biosecurity measures will play a much greater role in tackling the disease. They are supported by the findings of a European Commission investigation into Britain's TB control measures, which exposed failures and discrepancies in biosecurity practice and raised concerns that ear tag swapping is widespread in the UK, meaning many farmers could be keeping more productive TB reactor cattle in herds and sending healthy animals for slaughter.

The cull’s opponents have secured a debate on Thursday 25th October. In all 36 MPs sponsored the call for debate on the issue. Commenting on the potential outcome, Sheffield MP and chair of the all-party group on wildlife, Angela Smith said, "If we win the debate in the Commons, it will be incumbent on the government to respond. If they ignore parliamentary opinion they will stand accused of arrogance in the face of parliament, public opinion and science."

Newly appointed agriculture minister and cull supporter David Heath said he embraced the debate as an "Opportunity to put right a lot of the misleading information I've seen recently from opponents of the cull." His comments were echoed by NFU president Peter Kendall who said the parliamentary debate "offers a fresh opportunity for the science to be fully explained and for any misinformation that exists to be corrected."

Although Kendall claimed no other "workable alternative" to culling has been put forward, cull opponents in the Badger Trust have frequently quoted Defra’s Key conclusions from the meeting of scientific experts, which reveals the government’s most trusted scientific advisors believe that, whereas culling is a much more imprecise and potentially risky option, "Vaccination in an area could reduce the disease level in the local badger population and thus the risk to local cattle from badger-to-cattle transmission. In addition, vaccination is highly unlikely to have negative effects."

Nevertheless, Kendall added, "We understand this is a highly emotive issue and people should feel their views have been listened to. Badgers play a huge part in the cycle of reinfection for TB in cattle; this is why a cull of badgers is a regrettable but absolutely necessary part of this TB eradication package."

The latest figures on bovine TB recently released by Defra show that, "There has been a notable decrease in the incidence rate over the past six months," though the department said this is "Mainly as a result of an increased number of tests on unrestricted herds compared to last year." The provisional June 2012 incidence rate is 4.2 per cent, compared to 6.0 per cent in June 2011.

Badger Trust chair David Williams pounced on the Defra data when it was released last week. He said, "The Independent Scientific Group got it right when they said, after 10 years of research, that the way to bring the spread of bTB under control was not by killing badgers but by toughening up cattle-based measures.

"The ISG highlighted the frailties of the existing testing system; urged much tighter controls over the movement of cattle from bTB hotspots; and said improved biosecurity on farms would help control the disease. Culling badgers would make no meaningful contribution. The Government’s response has been wretched: minimal action on the true causes of the disease, and an unholy rush to kill and scapegoat badgers."

A cull could begin in either of two trial areas in Gloucester and Somerset imminently. If started, culling would have to continue for six weeks straight, before the onset of winter when the culling season is closed.

The motion tabled for debate later this month reads:

"This house recognises that significant, independent scientific research has demonstrated that culling badgers will have little effect on reducing the rate of bovine TB; acknowledges that culling may even exacerbate the problem; notes that the e-petition against the current plans for culling passed in a very short period of time the 100,000 figure required to make it eligible for debate in parliament and that it continues to attract impressive levels of support from members of the public; calls on the government to stop any planned or present culling of badgers; and further calls on the government to introduce a vaccination programme and measures to improve biosecurity with immediate effect."

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