Bovine TB & badgers in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister plans badger cull - Michelle Gildernew has announced a bovine TB Strategy which includes a badger prevalence study and plans for a ‘badger removal’ trial. This move is taken against the best available expert advice and is seen by many as a ‘back door’ cull.
Some people associated with the farming industry, including a number of vets, blame the badger for the persistence of bovine TB in cattle. These people advocate culling large numbers of these protected animals.
Yet here is no evidence to show that badgers are the primary source of bTB in cattle. On the contrary, there is increasing evidence that cattle are the main reservoir of the disease from which other cattle and badgers are infected.
Northern Ireland has sustained a fall in bTB infection in cattle without a cull, so why now?
Northern Ireland is the only region in Great Britain and Ireland not to have engaged in badger culling. It is also the only region to have achieved a sustained fall in bTB infection in cattle, with the incidence of the disease reduced by 50% since 2002. By contrast, the Republic of Ireland has suffered a 13% increase of bTB in the national herd since badger culling was intensified over the same period. More: http://www.badgersni.org.uk/TB_in_Wales_final.pdf
This success in Northern Ireland has been achieved using bio-security measures implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and made possible by the co-operation of the farming community (unlike elsewhere). These measures focus on a robust bTB testing programme in cattle as well as strict controls on their movement to reduce opportunity for infection.
However, Northern Ireland’s record is now threatened by a 'recent decision' by the Agriculture Minister to ‘progress plans for a badger removal trial’. This is widely interpreted as a ‘back door’ cull designed to defuse the anti-badger hysteria generated by politicians and some sections of the farming communty.
Right of access
The NIEA, which granted the licence to facilitate DARD in it’s planned badger ‘intervention’, has confirmed that the licence does not confer any right of access. There are no exceptions and this means that anyone with a badger sett on their land can legally refuse access without giving a reason. Any individuals attempting to interfere with badgers or their setts should be reported to the police. (But if killing was to go ahead, government operatives or farmers will try to trap and kill badgers outside your boundaries, so always check any runs going away from your land as well, if you can.)
Action - things you can do
1 - Please write to Michelle Gildernew, the Minister for Agriculture in Northern Ireland, asking her not to threaten Northern Ireland’s excellent record on TB control by implementing a pointless and potentially damaging badger cull.
- Click here to send an email to the Minister for Agriculture
- Click here to download a letter to send to the Minister for Agriculture
2 - Please write to Sammy Wilson, the Minister for the Environment, asking him to refuse a licence for any badger cull.
Click here to send an email to the Minister for the Environment
Click here to download a letter to send to the Minister for the Environment
| Michelle Gildernew MLA Minister for Agriculture Room 337 Parliament Buildings Belfast BT4 3XX |
Sammy Wilson MLA Minister for Environment Parliament Buildings Stormont Belfast BT4 3XX |
Please remember to add your full name and address to your letter/email to make it count. You might also consider sending a similar letter or email to the Agriculture Committee or the MLAs for your area. Click here for Agriculture Committee and click here for a list of MLAs
3 - Click here to sign our online petition
Thank you, don't let this become another
Below is a cartoon by Ian Knox that was published in the Irish News, sums it up doesn't it? (you can see more cartoons here)
