In October 2013
badger culling was introduced in the UK to two areas to pilot the scheme and to
test whether it is safe. For those who do not know, badger culling was
introduced to reduce the spread of the disease Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) which
can be spread to humans and other animals. There is still no UK wide policy for
badger culling but this will probably be determined after the pilot schemes.
West Somerset and West Gloucestershire were the chosen areas and since then
these schemes have been put into action and badger culling has been underway.
Since October, the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has not produced great
results. Both pilots have been extended as there were not enough badgers culled
within the original 6 week period which was initially agreed in Parliament.
Owen Paterson has also been accused of using unethical tactics in order to push
through the culling reform. There is uproar from scientists that longer culls
mean that badgers have longer to flee; therefore they would be spreading the
bTB further. The counter argument for this is that more badgers in the area
would be killed overall. Alongside the reform and parliamentary disagreements,
animal welfare groups including RSPCA and the Badger Trust are fighting that
badger culling is unethical and feel that it is a random slaughter of badgers.
To an extent it is easy to agree with this opinion, as you may just hear the
words animal and shooting and not agree. However in reality, badgers lead the
risk of spreading bTB disease to not only your animals such as your dogs, cats,
cattle etc. but also to yourselves. Can we allow this risk?
Personally I believe
that badgers need to be culled. I’m very much aware that not all badgers are
carrying the disease, but the risk for me personally is much higher than caring
about the welfare of badgers. The risk to humans has not been considered as
significant just yet, but to our animals it is. Letting your cat or dog roam
around in your garden is all it takes to come into contact with badgers urine
or excrement. For me, I care far more for my animals rather than badgers that
quite frankly can also be violent and aggressive.
Many people also
argue that the way in which badgers are culled (being shot at by marksmen) is
bad. Again, this is the most cost effective and fastest way to cull. It’s quick
and is over within seconds for the badger. Any other form of killing that had
been recommended would have cost more money or would have taken far longer to
kill the same amount of badgers. Moreover this system does have regulations
which are followed very strictly. Even though England allows ‘free shooting’
(anyone with a firearm) for the culling, these marksmen need to hold a licence
to cull badgers. These licences ensure that applicants have the skills and
resources to cull efficiently and humanely. This is both an effective and safe
system.
For me, it’s an
obvious choice. I don’t believe that badger culling is either unethical or
cruel. It could either be that badger in your garden or your dog. I know what’s
more important to me and honestly, if more people came forward to be marksmen,
more badger culling can happen. Say no to Bovine Tuberculosis and yes to badger
culling!
I know that a lot of
people might not agree with me but I’d like to know if you do and if you don’t,
can you give me a reason to believe that it’s wrong to cull badgers?
What do you think
about the spread of disease?
J
In regards to this blog I totally agree with you and what you are saying in that this badger cull is a good idea and should be introduced in other areas. From living in the countryside myself I am aware of this disease that they have, as you have talked about. This is a very serious thing and is not for people to get enjoyment out of the killing but instead to protect us. As you said earlier, it would not mean that anybody can go out and kill a badger but instead must hold a licence to do so and therefore these people would know how to carry out the procedure in the best way as well as these people being farmers or homeowners who know that there are badgers on their land that are posing a threat to the various animals they have as well as themselves.
ReplyDeleteIf it is not stopped now then it will spread widely and be extremely hard to get rid of, as well as posing a threat to contaminate our meat through these animals digesting their faeces.
I understand that many people are against it for animal protection reasons but in this case we cant just consider the lives of one species of animal but must look at what would be best for the greater good, which in this case is the cull the badgers.
I just hope that this culling will be pursued and expanded over the UK, do you think that this will be the case? I think that when talking about this serious situation people should not think so much about how much it will cost or if it is not having such a big initial effect at the beginning as they thought, but instead the future and how it will help in the long run.
Hi Jo,
DeleteThanks for your comment, it's good to see what opinion others hold on our blog issues. As you've said yourself, being in the countryside you are probably within one of the most understanding 'for' group towards culling badgers because of your animals and surrounding areas.
I completely agree with you that if it is not stopped now then it will continue to spread further which could then become life threatening. The problem is, not everyone holds this opinion, which then leads me on to your question. The likelihood of the program expanding at the moment is quite low; this is because of the stats that have been collected so far. If the program was striving, as was hoped; there would no doubt about it be support for it in parliament. But, when the numbers are low, it doesn't look good. Personally I believe that if there were enough supporters then there would be more marksmen and there would therefore be more culling’s. It's a vicious circle. Support like yours could go a long way. Would you ever be interested in taking your support further?
Thanks again for commenting Jo!
J
Hi J and Jo,
DeleteI agree that the badger issue needs to be controlled, as the spread of Tb to our life stock could have dramatic effects on us in the future; but I am a true believer that as a country we must look into a more humane response to this issue instead of the easy option, which is to cull them.
Is this really the only option available for the government to commission, or is it just the easiest and the cheapest?
Marcus Green
Hi Marcus,
DeleteIt's great to have your opinion on the matter. I think the reason why culling is in action is not because of the fact that it's 'easy', as I think they are currently proving that it's not working as well as expected. Therefore it's not that 'easy'. Vaccinations have been tested and there are still protest groups at the moment that are trying to prove that they are as effective if not, more effective that badger culling. The problem is that the cost is considerably higher and so high that the Government will not fund it. It has been estimated that vaccinations to could cost as much as 10 times that of culling badgers, depending on the vaccination. Moreover, the length of time that vaccinations take is simply too long for the English farming industry; while the more badgers roam there have been new incidents in cattle herds over the past decade and this has cost taxpayers £500m in compensation to farmers. This means that more money would be spent on a vaccination scheme that is so slow and then on top of this the taxpayers would then have to pay an extra £500m in compensation. Other methods haven’t even been considered because of time and as the English farming industry have claimed, this is the most important aspect to them. Do you think that this time consuming and expensive method is better than badger culling? I’d love to know what you think.
Thanks again.
J
You put up a good argument for badger culling, however I do believe it comes down to ethics and animal rights.
ReplyDeleteit is just an alternative for fox hunters to still get their kicks, do you not agree?
Hi Lorna,
DeleteI completely agree with you that the issue comes down to ethics and animal rights. There is however an element which rises above them in my opinion. And that’s safety. I would never harm an animal without a threat, as I would never push anyone to hurt something if they did not believe in the cause. I found your point on fox hunting to be very interesting. As you may know, fox hunting became a tradition as far back as the 16th century and until recently, as it was banned in 2004 was very popular and was known as a sport. It is now illegal to ‘hunt’ foxes but perfectly acceptable and legal to shoot foxes as vermin. I believe this has a similarity to badger culling; the shooting of the badgers is not for enjoyment but because of their disease and behaviour towards domesticated animals and land. I’d be interested to know your opinion on this and to see if there are any other disagreements that you hold over badger culling. I would also like to ask you for your opinion on the ethics of badger culling; do you believe it can be deemed as ethical? There are many logical reasons behind it. Or do you believe that because they are still killing an animal it becomes unethical?
Thanks for your comment Lorna, really good to get your opinion on the matter!
J