Brian May

[Reece]

I sympathise with you entirely but that statement is not quite correct, surely cows are the main carriers of Bovine TB....

 

What came first the chicken or the egg? when Constablewas painting the haywain and domestic cattle were living harmoniously in the countryside riddled with badgers was there any Bovine TB then. Where did it come from. Did the badgers have it all along or did the cows give it to the badgers ?

 

Not trying to be funny just seriously asking the question.

 

Not sure about where TB originally came from, but deer can carry it as well apaprently. It isn't just badgers that carry it. We also used to have aurochs over here, until a few thousand years ago, and they were the wild ancestor of modern cattle, so they might have had something to do with it.

 

Also, TB has only become a problem since badgers received protection. Before then, farmers and gamekeepers kept their numbers under control.

[digger]

I think it helps to see it from a farmers prospective. When a beef herd reared in barns contracts TB its hard not to blame the badgers we see snuffling through on our way out lamping. Each animal that is condemned is a lot of money down the pan. Its pure escapism to advocate such drivel as four wheel drive did.

[RossEM]

I used to work on a dairy farm where the cattle are barned year-round on sand. The conditions were appalling - excrement in the feed and water troughs, some cows had infected post natal wounding and were still being milked, others that had contracted ecoli were kept yards from the rest of the herd.

 

I'm not a Vet but it's no wonder that some herds get hit hard by TB. The cattle at this farm were American Holsteins with an average life span of just 4 1/2 years. I know all farms aren't like this, I've worked with an outdoor reared Angus herd which were a lot healthier, but don't take the NFU's moaning as gospel.

 

I agree that badgers should removed when and where a TB outbreak occurs, and to do so would be for the benefit of cattle and badgers. However, I would never want to shoot one and I can't believe Defra hasn't been more pro-active in producing a vaccine for cattle, it's still some ten years away.

[hafod]

brian may

 

should spend a bit of time on a farm and see first hand the effects of having a cow in the herd react after a TB test and then put up with the aftermath ,

 

the restrictions , the standstill orders , the re tests , the mountian of paperwork ,etc , i, ve seen the results and its not a nice thing to witness , no doubt he has not got a clue though

 

if that badger has a right to life what about that poor cow that provides his daily pint on the door step in the morning on his cornflakes or if he,s not a veggie his sunday roast

 

as usual another celeb with a waneing career looking to boost their popularty with the masses , does he not know THAT T.B IS A KILLER UP UNTILL THE 1950S T.B WAS INFACT ONE OF THE BIGGEST KILLERS IN THE UK POPULATION , as usual a celeb with no idea what he,s saying ,

 

please brian stick to your music and your telescope, i,d have thought with all the problems in the world at the moment with fammine and wars why could,t you have found a greater cause than this ,

andy