Badgers

[Commando]

It ok setting a high bar on best practice and animal husbandry but that cost money.

 

That extra cost cannot be passed on to the consumer due to imports.

 

How can buy lamb cheaper from New Zealand than we can from Wales ?

 

I also wonder how many of these whacko ALF LACS types actually buy these imports / cheap products which are fuelling the problem in the first place.

 

In my opinion, the demand for cheap products is the primary cause of most of the problems in agriculture

 

:thumbup1:

 

It's a sad state of affairs when bottled milk is cheaper than bottled water!

[Stubby]

Have we resolved the " Cretin " -- counter-- " cretin " accusations between Kevin and Pycoed ??

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Do you really believe that TB passes only the one way? How do you explain closed herds, of which I am personally aware of several, that have suffered TB outbreaks in badger hotspots? (Since you appear to know little of agriculture, a "closed herd" is one in which no cattle are bought in, all replacements are reared on farm & the only cattle transports are surplus stock OUT from the farm)

 

The vaccine is for the BADGER, you cretin, that is what the govt. preferred "solution" is in Wales. The vaccine in cattle is similarly little more effective, but at least in the cattle situation there is a known & registered population, reactors are culled (at great cost to the country), & the remaining population of cattle are thereby somewhat protected. None of that is the case in the badger population.

 

Yes it was a long, industrious ( & lucrative) career.

 

Do you understand a little more now?

 

Ah, I hadn't seen the post, but, on reflection, I offer a preemptive apology for my rash post which is a symptom of an impassioned and lively discussion topic, well done OP.

 

What is blatantly obvious from the "claim / counter claim" status of this discussion thread (which is being duplicated at higher and lower intellectual levels all across the country) is that any solution will be a real challenge requiring those on BOTH sides to seriously challenge their preconceived or financially motivated perspective. I wouldn't naturally fall within an anti-cull category but I do in this case.

 

There's little point banging heads with no hope of anyone changing their minds so I think I'll stop banging my head.

[pycoed]

Thanks for withdrawal of the cretin remark, for which I also apologise! I stress again I have no financial motivation in this issue (other than being a taxpayer of course!)

 

This whole TB issue is a classic case of a stitch in time saves nine. About twenty years ago now, we rented a farm holiday cottage in Devon the owner of which was a vet employed (probably min. of ag. in those days) on TB testing across the west country. I remember him telling me that it was starting to get really serious down there & it wouldn't be long before it got out of hand. If only the ministry had done something about it then, it would never have got to this stage, when a law designed to convict a tiny minority of badger baiting yobboes, has resulted in serious problems for countless stock farmers right up the west side of the country & farther afield.

FWIW I don't think this cull will achieve a great deal ( there are those who think it is designed to fail, but even I am not that cynical...), simply because the statistical, geographic & especially the epidemiological groundwork has not been done. <SIGH> Where can we find a politician with both balls & brains eh?

[home of wood]

Since the increase in Badger population there has been a sharp decline in Hedgehogs and other wild life ... also a decline in the bubble bee as badgers dig these up.. The badger hungar is know making them attack chicken houses for food...

The control of the badger population will hopefully see a increase in other species... so i think all this can only be a good thing... and help nature and the farmers ..

[Lyn Ed]

I see on the news this morning that a trial cull started last night in glostershire, and now theres convoys of animal rights protesters driving around country roads and most probably trespassing on people's land trying to distrupt the cull, if it wasn't plastered all over the news and papers these badger huggers would be none the wiser and wouldn't have a clue what was going on in the countryside.

[TGB]

... it wasn't plastered all over the news and papers these badger huggers would be none the wiser and wouldn't have a clue what was going on in the countryside.

 

I disagree - there are some who are knowledgeabe about badgers and of those, a great many will have an in depth grounding in the TB-badger-cattle argument and ongoing scientic research.

 

Though I freely admit, there are some people, who will take any opportunity to disrupt the proceedings of others and to hug an acorn for life.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Well here we are at the end of the trial, notwithstanding the extensions required due to abject incompetence...

 

And what can we deduce thus far....

 

"Mr Paterson's major gaffe, accusing the badgers of moving the goalposts, which has caused him to be universally derided, was foolish, since, if indeed the badgers had, in some way adjusted their numbers, it would mean that they were a lot more intelligent than Mr Paterson and his whole tawdry gang," Dr May said.

[Jesse]

I'm against, and I'M throwing this one in from some distance, like from out at sea, to the mainland, If we didn't have so many illegal immigrants we wouldn't have such a problem with Tuberculosis. Have a smoke and think about that.

[Jesse]

I'm against, and I'M throwing this one in from some distance, like from out at sea, to the mainland, If we didn't have so many illegal immigrants we wouldn't have such a problem with Tuberculosis. Have a smoke and think about that.

 

Its all about SUSTAINABILITY we live on a small Island and could possibly have once sustained our inhabitants even organically, but now , all we are destined for is a sterile environment and just to pay to look at our native collections, how sad. Or you could just Google it