Benn banishes badger culling

[Steve]

After much deliberation Hilary Benn has finally decided that killing badgers will not form part of Defra's bovine TB control programme. In his long-awaited statement to the House of Commons on Monday, he quoted from the final report of the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) and said that badger culling could make no meaningful contribution to the control of the disease. It might improve things, he said, but it might also make things worse, and he was not prepared to take that risk.

Recognising that vaccines are the only long term answer to the problem, he has announced extra money to improve the chances of success for current vaccine research. However, no amount of money will speed up the progress of that research and an effective vaccine for cattle (along with a new test to tell apart infected and vaccinated cattle) is unlikely to be ready until around 2015. In the meantime, Mr Benn said that while improved cattle controls could tackle the spread of TB, these would come at a cost to the industry. Therefore he wished to work in partnership with the industry to discuss the best way to take those measures forward.

I believe that Mr Benn's statement is excellent news not only for badgers and those of us who seek their protection, but also for cattle and cattle farmers (though many of the latter clearly do not share this view). Killing badgers would simply divert precious resources away from the cattle-focussed measures which are needed to tackle bovine TB. Our chances of halting and reversing the spread of the disease are now much improved (at least in England), so long as the beef and dairy industries take the opportunity now presented to them.

A record of Hilary Benn's statement (and the debate which followed) can be seen here:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2008-07-07b.1153.0

I'm sure there's lots more to be said about Mr Benn's decision and the reaction to it!

[Steve]

Here is the Badger Trust's response to Hilary Benn's announcement:

Benn rules out badger culling

For immediate release: 16.00 7 July 2008

The Badger Trust today warmly welcomed the Government's new package of measures to control bovine TB in cattle.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, told the House of Commons that even large scale culling of badgers only produced "marginal benefits" and that whilst a prolonged cull over even larger areas "might work, it might also not work". He therefore concluded: "I do not think that it would be right to take this risk."

in addition, the Secretary of State has decided to make TB vaccination a priority and he intends to establish a "Bovine TB Partnership Group" with the industry. Mr Benn told MPs that the burden of TB control falls most heavily on farmers and that whilst it would be possible to tighten cattle measures still further, this would come at a cost. The Partnership Group will therefore be able to decide whether or not there should be further cattle controls and other measures to control the disease. Mr Benn concluded that: "Our best chance is to work together."

Trevor Lawson, for the Badger Trust, responded: "We are delighted that Hilary Benn has based his decision on sound science. The Government and the farming industry can now move forwards together in controlling the disease in a way which supports rather than harms the industry. Eradication is a long way off, but the science clearly shows that control is rapidly within our grasp, provided that the farming unions are prepared to work towards it."

However, the Badger Trust criticised Conservative spokesman James Paice for claiming that Mr Benn had "gone against the advice of the ISG" and for claiming that PCR - the Polymerase Chain Reaction - could be used to "target" diseased badgers.

Trevor Lawson said: "The Secretary of State has not gone against the advice of the ISG at all. It advised him that badger culling can make 'no meaningful contribution' to bovine TB control. Furthermore, Mr Paice should be well aware - because we showed him the research paper on 31 January 2006 - that the Veterinary Laboratories Agency has ruled out PCR as an effective test for TB in badgers [1]. This test is even ruled out by the researchers who have been working on it, including Dr Orin Courtenay at the University of Warwick who tells the Badger Trust that 'the application of this technology could only really be used for detecting BCG after a vaccine trial'.

"Mr Paice appears not to have grasped the scientific evidence and it is lamentable that he seems so determined to kill badgers in spite of the overwhelming evidence that this will not help the situation."

ENDS

1. VLA (2005), PCR as a Diagnostic Tool, TB Research Group, February 2005. A copy of the paper is available from the Badger Trust.

[damejane]

   Hi Steve, it is great to hear from you. Yes, marvellous news for Badgers, although there will be many farmers out there taking their own measures to "control" bTB instead of improving their biosecuity.
The farming press now state that wildlife and animal protection groups are giving thousands of £s to Labour as a back hander for this decision. They obviously think we are all loaded.......if only.
All the best, Damejane

[Steve]

Hi Damejane, it's good to be back.

Yes, I too am concerned about the talk of farmers "taking the law into their own hands". Hilary Benn made it clear in the debate that followed his statement on Monday that such actions would of course be against the law. I think he should also have reminded people that localised 'badger culling' is also a sure-fire way of helping to spread bovine TB!

People might wonder if there really are farmers who would be stupid enough to risk making the bovine TB problem worse by carrying out illegal 'culls'. But of course some farmers have already been doing exactly that. I wonder how much of the current problem is down to those irresponsible 'rural vigilantes'.

I hope those who care for the badger will keep a close watch on any setts they know of, particularly in TB areas. Anyone who finds evidence of illegal disturbance to badger setts, or any dead badgers which appear to have died in suspicious circumstances, should contact their local Badger Group and/or the RSPCA immediately.

[Steve]

Hilary Benn's decision on badger culling has attracted a lot of media coverage (searching Google News for the key words badgers and TB generates hundreds of results). Most of the coverage is on the 'angry farmers' theme - I suppose 'overjoyed conservationists' doesn't make a good headline.

Many of the media reports, and the people quoted in them, refer to Mr Benn "ignoring the advice of the (former) Government Chief Scientist Sir David King", or claim that "scientists are divided" on the issue of badger culling with one report calling for a cull and another urging the opposite. What the journalists and the people they quote don't seem to realise is that the scientific community is far, far less divided than they make out. Sir David King's report advising Defra to cull badgers actually represents the views of a very small minority. A news release issued by the Badger Trust on July 7th (which does not seem to be on their website) makes this very clear:

Former chief scientist "isolated" on badger culling for bovine TB

The Badger Trust has welcomed the claim by Lord Krebs that Professor Sir David King is "really isolated" in his view that badger culling should be used to control bovine TB in cattle.

Lord Krebs, who devised the trials which concluded that badger culling could make "no meaningful contribution to bovine TB control in Great Britain", says that in addition to himself, Professor King's predecessor, Lord May, and his successor, Professor Beddington, agree that badger culling is "not the answer" for bovine TB control.

Lord Krebs told Radio 4's Today programme on 4 July that Professor King is "really isolated"[1].

Trevor Lawson, for the Badger Trust, commented: "Farming unions claim that the scientific community is split on the issue of badger culling.  In fact, with the exception of Professor King, it is united in its view that badger culling is not the answer.

"This overwhelming body of sound scientific opinion means that the farming industry can move forwards with Government in tackling bovine TB with improved cattle testing and biosecurity.  We are confident that with proper investment, Government will be able to rapidly reverse the bovine TB problem, bringing relief to farmers and their families."

ENDS

1. Krebs, J. (2008), Today, Radio 4, 4 July 2008: "But one thing I should say is, in relation to what Sir David said, is all the experts who have looked into this really agree that culling is not the answer. The authors of the paper that Sir David cites agree that culling is not the answer, his predecessor Lord May and his successor, Professor Beddington, this Government's chief scientist also agree that it is not the answer. So Sir David is really isolated in his view."

[badgerjan]

Hi Steve, it is good news isn't it, I see today that the Tories are saying that they will reverse the decision when they win the next election.

I wish I could say it was good news for the badger, but the way they have reacted to the news down here in Devon, I am not so sure.

The farmers down here are now forming their own co-operative, they say they will act independently and investigate the science for themselves, and make a decision accordingly.

Our good friend Mr Richard Haddock has been very active, he says the wild life trusts are powerless, and can't stop him killing diseased badgers on his own land.
It is something he does on a regular basis and uses the clause in the badgers act to back him self.

However, I hope that most farmers will not take the law into their own hands, and give time for the new testing procedure to work.
They have only just started to use the gamma interferon test in Devon, and it has already caused a lot of problems for some, hopefully though if those cows with TB are removed by it, the disease will go into decline and then they will stop hounding the badgers.

So good to see you back Steve, everyone will be glad and I am sure they will all be back on now.

[Steve]

Hi Jan. You are certainly in the thick of it down there.

Talking of thick, I presume the Chief Scientific Adviser for your local farmers will be self-styled badger and TB 'expert' Bryan Hill, the Devon farmer who reckons that long claws on a badger are a sign of ill health [1]. The same Brian Hill who told the BBC in 2005 that he had been 'legally' and 'humanely' gassing badgers on his land by pumping tractor exhaust fumes into their setts [2] when in fact such actions were anything but legal and certainly not humane. The same Brian Hill who told the Farmers Guardian in 2005 that he shot any sick badgers he found, despite the fact that TB cannot be reliably diagnosed in a badger without a blood test. He claimed at the time that his actions had kept his farm TB-free for years - I wonder what the impact was on the TB status of neighbouring farms?

Mr Hill also contributed his 'expertise' to "a special report on the involvement of badgers in the spread of bovine tuberculosis" which was sent to to the European Union's Farms Commission in March this year. The Western Morning News, quoting Mr Hill who spoke at a press conference, reported: "The ten-year Krebs Trials into badger involvement had caused more problems than they had solved, as they had only tested larger badger setts containing healthy animals, which always drove away sick badgers. In fact, the trials had interfered with healthy badger populations, dispersing them so that they caught TB from diseased outlying animals. Over the years, Mr Hill said he had visited hundreds of Westcountry farms and he could easily tell which setts contained sick animals - not least because sick badgers were unable to dig and forage properly." That there are people who take seriously this man and the utter drivel he utters, is mind boggling!

We can but hope that the majority of farmers have more respect for the law, and considerably greater intelligence, than Mr Hill.

Steve

[1] Quotes from Brian Hill on Newsnight, 8 January 2002:

Referring to claws on the forefoot of a 'sick' badger he had shot - "The claws there are overgrown, that badger hasn’t dug anywhere for a long time…" Long claws on a badger's forepaw are of course a sign of a perfectly normal badger.

Referring to the muddy nose of the badger (a sign of perfectly normal foraging behaviour) - "…you can see it has been using its nose a lot because it can’t dig anymore."

Referring to the apparently huge numbers of badgers in the locality - "When you think of this valley now, there are three locations of badgers in this valley.  ...  I reckon there’s at least, in just this valley, what a half a mile, three quarters of a mile, over 120 badgers." If there really were 120 badgers in that half a square mile, that would have been more than twice the highest ever recorded density of badgers in Britain.

[2] See BBC News article