Badgers and TB

[tameblackbirds]

No not my initials... I have just read that The Welsh government has set aside an area where they will begin to cull Badgers and see if it has any effect on bovine TB in cattle.

News Wales > Agriculture > Wales badger cull a necessity or a brutal pogrom?

what are your thoughts?

[Rob_D]

It is a political decision to satisfy the FUW and NFU.

Shame on Elin Jones and shame on the NFU/FUW. They should start addressing the issues that really would solve the problem.

[Digit]

Shame on Elin Jones and shame on the NFU/FUW. They should start addressing the issues that really would solve the problem.

Such as?

Roy.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by Digit

Shame on Elin Jones and shame on the NFU/FUW. They should start addressing the issues that really would solve the problem.

Such as?

Roy.

The cramped damp conditions in cattle sheds, the fact its usually the badgers catching the tb of the cows, not the other way round and if low cost electric fencing is installed around the cow food and cattle shed stops most the possible contatcs between bagder and cow.

[Hobjob]

Originally Posted by Digit

Shame on Elin Jones and shame on the NFU/FUW. They should start addressing the issues that really would solve the problem.

Such as?

Thre are one or two longish and informative threads on WAB already.

[Digit]

According to DEFRA the usual transmission from Badgers is via their urine deposited at scent spots, apparently their urine is highly infectious if they have TB.
Cattle are only in sheds in the winter, not the rest of the year.
According to DEFRA and the Vet's group nationally 30 per cent of Badgers are now infected, in hot spots it is probably much higher.
52 per cent of Badger deaths are road kills, I have seen no figures as to the TB amongst those dying on the roads.
Lateral transmission is from Sow to cubs, infected Badgers may carry the disease for five or more years.
These are not my figures but the official ones that everyone can check for themselves.
Now what puzzles me is that no one ever seems to look at the problem from the point of view of the Badger. Some years ago DEFRA turned down the idea of vaccination, saying that Badgers were now too numerous for DEFRA to be able to afford the cost.
Now they are starting such action this year. Badgers will be trapped then injected and marked so that an animal is not injected twice. No mention is made of testing nor destruction of infected Badgers.
I am on the side of the Badger, and in favour of a cull, sounds odd I agree.
My reasoning is this, DEFRA admits that it will take years to complete the programme and that Badgers will continue to die. If Badger numbers were to be reduced then the vaccination programme would be accomplished much more rapidly and this disease could then be eliminated from within the Badger population.
If bTB works in Badgers as in humans their death is pretty awful, virtually drowning in blood and fluid.
Nobody who opposes culling seems to appreciate that eradicating this disease would greatly benefit the Badger population, and as an animal welfare programme we should support all actions that remove this disease as rapidly as possible IMO.

Roy.

[stripee]

Just to say Digit, there was a Badger Found Dead Survey in Wales which found 12% of badgers had reacted to or had bovine TB. (pdf file)
Badgers rarely die of bovine TB, in majority of cases they carry it and die of something else. Of course, an unpleasant death. The majority of cases in cattle can be traced to cattle movements. But there is on the badger cull threads highly informed and interesting lengthy debate as has been said already.

[Digit]

Some Vets disagree Stripee and it is a debate often fueled more by the heart than the brain I fear, but for me I would support any action that removes this disease both from cattle and wildlife, remember my friend that not only Badgers can get this disease.

Roy.

[stripee]

Originally Posted by Digit

Some Vets disagree Stripee and it is a debate often fueled more by the heart than the brain I fear, but for me I would support any action that removes this disease both from cattle and wildlife, remember my friend that not only Badgers can get this disease.

Roy.

There is going to be disagreement on this one Roy. Although I appreciate your point of view. Yes,not only badgers get the disease. But the numbers of cases in people is very small and not increasing. In cats, most can be traced to unpausterised milk.
Other mammals are affected, in the UK, deer of course. In other countries other mammals carry bovine TB. One of the saddest are the lion prides in the Kruger National Park. Bovine TB was unknown in South Africa until European settlers arrived with their cattle. Now the prides are weakened and diseased.
Whether a cull of badgers as wished for by Elin Jones will do anything at all to reduce numbers of cattle being slaughtered is highly contentious. She herself has said she doesn't know.
Badgers were gassed in the 1970s here. We had several setts that were empty for many years, and were also targeted by diggers. Yes, it's an emotional issue, but the science can be schewed one way or the other. There will probably never be agreement. Vaccine in cattle has problems with EU acceptance. But I would be interested to know, if anyone knows, why dairy herds are particularly prone, around me the beef herds are clear of bovine TB but the dairy farms seem to get it?

[stripee]

I am mostly interested now in where the boundaries of the cull will be, and what news is going to come out - so as I said on the Badger Cull Rumour thread above, I will have to bow out of further discussion for now and leave it to others.