Farming News - Second trial cull starts in Gloucestershire
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Second trial cull starts in Gloucestershire
With news that the second trial cull of badgers has started in Gloucestershire, the RSPCA has reiterated its condemnation of the government's policy. The charity said on Wednesday that it is "appalled" by the trial culls, which will see an estimated 5,000 badgers shot by trained markspeople over the next six weeks.
The charity has also expressed concern over the lack of transparency on the part of Defra and the NFU-backed cull companies, despite the level of scrutiny the controversial policy has faced. The environment department has stated it will release the findings of independent experts once culls have concluded, but ministers have already discussed the possibility of extending culling to new zones as early as next year.
Defra maintains that badger culling forms an important part of its Bovine TB Eradication Strategy and insists that culling will eliminate the disease's "wildlife reservoir", but the RSPCA contends that both the general public and the scientific community are certain the cull will prove inhumane and ineffective as a means of reducing the rate of bovine TB, which affects a wide range of wild and domestic animals besides the badger.
Lord John Krebs, who oversaw decade-long trial culls, the results of which went on to inform the current government's policy, told BBC radio that, despite Defra officials' vehement insistence otherwise, "The science is as clear-cut as it can be… and it shows that culling badgers is not a very effective way of reducing TB in cattle."
Late last month, the RSPCA was vindicated when the Charity Commission overturned a complaint brought by the NFU over the charity's campaigning against the cull and opposition to the live animal export trade. The regulator concluded, "We are satisfied that it is reasonable for the RSPCA to decide that campaigning against the badger cull and live animal exports is justified in furtherance of their objectives."
The charity issued a statement on Wednesday in which it said, "The cull may have started but we remain committed to persuading the government to put a stop to this misguided, unethical and unscientific attempt to control bovine TB in cattle. We believe it will not help solve the problems caused by this devastating disease or benefit cattle, badgers or dairy farmers and rural communities."
When shooting started in Somerset last week, NFU president Peter Kendall said, "This is an important step not just for cattle farmers but for the whole farming industry. Badger control remains a controversial subject and we understand that some people will never agree with controlling badgers in this way [but] we cannot go on culling tens of thousands of cattle every year because of TB while knowing the disease exists in wildlife uncontrolled."
However, an RSPCA spokesperson told BBC new on Wednesday, "We are… concerned that plans to extend the scope and scale of the cull appear to have been made without proper political scrutiny - before the pilots have even taken place and without asking MPs for their opinion."
RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant added, "We also fear that some may take the law into their own hands by killing badgers under the cover of the cull. This is a criminal offence and we will work with the police to bring such individuals to justice."