[Castle Farm]

I had Badgers around the house when I lived in Cornwall. There were 9 in total and I used to be able to feed some of the group by hand, especially a young sow named Molly.Not sure culling is the answer, but the tremendous cost to farmers and the tax payers something needs to be done.   



https://www.facebook.com/BadgerCullPage/photos/a.539141112851355.1073741828.536180543147412/767753763323421/?type=1&fref=nf

[Me]

So what is your solution - deportation? Sterilisation? Badger family planning clinics?   

[Castle Farm]

I thought this might turn into a serious debate...but obviously not.

[Me]

Oh dear you want a serious debate on badgers. What is the point?

Read the science, come to your own conclusions. People regurgitate what others tell them with monotonus regularity, as you ask opinion - mine is they need culling if you want to control Tb. 

[Castle Farm]

Thank you ME.
Try getting out of bed the other side tomorrow.

[AndynJ]

Cull every
Badger
Fox
Rat
&
Rabbit
Oh and dog owners that don't keep control of there dogs. (not the dogs just the owners)

[devonlad]

Oh dear, it is an emotive subject !!!!!!!!!!! might have been more straightforward to ask an easier question such as "what is the meaning of life ?". Whilst I hate the idea of simply killing an animal because it is a nuisance, as things stand I cannot see beyond culling being part of a vain attempt to try to hold back the tide. Culling, along with the tighter controls on animal movement seems all we have to rely on until perhaps a time when a usable vaccine for both livestock and badgers is available and that could be years away. Evidence of culling in Ireland since the 80s seems at first to support culling with a drop in Tb cases, but like most statistics if you drill down just a little this becomes open to question.
How far back should we look, badger sett numbers have doubled in UK in past 25 years, yet their natural predators such as bears and wolves disappeared anywhere between 500 and 1000 years ago.
One issue I do have with those who oppose controlling numbers of wildlife is that they seem to fail to realise that man cocked things up centuries ago and left unchecked certain species such as badger and fox will create havoc in the countryside. I thought it was Darwin who first introduced the general Victorian public to the notion that "nature" was unpleasant and brutal, yet there still seems to persist this idea that "nature" should be left to run itself. Man destroyed the natural order of things long ago and as a result unpleasant initiatives such as killing beautiful wild animals to retain some semblance of order is all we are left with.
so no answers from me just a ramble really and the truth is I've got just as much clue as anyone else, NOT A CLUE. In the spirit of string things up though, I understand there is no record of a human catching bovine TB from infected meat yet with the exception of some catering establishments, meat from infected animals is banned from all supermarkets. ??

[Me]

Thank you ME.
Try getting out of bed the other side tomorrow.

I will!

[devonlady]

TB, I think was passed on through the milk of infected cows and less than a hundred years ago was a death sentence especially to teen-aged children. A vaccine for humans was developed and given to all school children, I remember being given it in the late 1950's.
Since then and especially with modern day treatment TB has been eradicated in our part of the world, children are no longer vaccinated and parents no longer have a heart full of dread as their children start that awful hollow cough.
However, it would be worrying if it reared it's ugly head again so we have to keep it at bay as we can.
Badgers are lovely (though they can be a bloody pest, taking tiny lambs etc.) but, like foxes there are, as far as we are concerned, just too many of them.
Or maybe the numbers are being concentrated in smaller areas with 1000's acres of good land being built on. If this were the rain forest we would be doing all we could to halt it!
Also, Castle Farm, imagine trying to have a serious discussion with the likes of Me, Womble and Clodopper on the forum Sorry, boys but your lighthearted posts brighten my days!!

[Me]

Cull every
Badger
Fox
Rat
&
Rabbit
Oh and dog owners that don't keep control of there dogs. (not the dogs just the owners)

Add Grey Seals - they get it too and cats (but just coz I don't like 'em.)

Pretty much everything can get tb, just some species get it more than others....

[Castle Farm]

The reason I posted this was my 90 year old neighbour was taken into hospital on Monday with a suspected heart attack and has been admitted to Birmingham heart hospital for further tests.
He was due a TB test on Tuesday and I offered to run the cattle through the system. I asked the guy running the test his view and he said that the only way forwards was to house all the cattle in a badger free shed unless this problem could be resolved.


Makes you wonder what farming will be like in another 30 years.

[Me]

Yes, 365 day housing, electric fence off silage clamps and fields.

I had the joy of doing biosecurity visits pre-cull (!) that never happened, where farmers were persuaded to implement a variety of badger cow interaction prevention measures. (Not as extreme as 365 d housing mind you). Glad to report West Wales is now Tb free....   

[Porterlauren]

Badgers. . . . . . even taking tb out of the picture, they are still a pain in the arse.

They are a top predator, with no predators themselves, other than man. They kill ground nesting birds and take chicks, they dig out honey bee nests, they kill hedgehogs, and many many other things.

They also kill lambs, poultry, destroy crops, undermine roads, and generally cause havoc.

It is our DUTY as responsible custodians of the countryside, to MANAGE their population, and this means controlling and removing the excess and individuals who are causing a problem.

But for some reason, some UTTERLY stupid law, prohibits this.

WHY? Why are badgers special, they are not rare, why should they have any more protection than a fox, deer, rabbits, hare or anything else.

Oh yes. . . . and then there is the TB!

[Me]

WHY? Why are badgers special, they are not rare, why should they have any more protection than a fox, deer, rabbits, hare or anything else.

Oh yes. . . . and then there is the TB!

WHY? Because Brian May says it is so.
Why more protection? Because old Beatles agree with Brian May.
There is the TB! No there isn't, its all the cows fault (see above).

[AndynJ]

so ignoring the TB argument is there a good reason for badgers ?
Can't milk them, can't imagine having a badger burger so there purpose is ?
Therefore Kill them

So ignoring other arguments, is there a good reason for keeping the long term unemployed ?
oops