Beardo Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Badger cull is shelved - to fury from farmers A scheduled cull of the badger population to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis is set to be cancelled this morning just days before it was due to go ahead. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/9627264/Badger-cull-is-shelved-to-fury-from-farmers.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 More u-turning and cow-towing by this wishy-washy government. They give in to the fuzzy brigade all the time. Shame they don't give in to us not liking petrol prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsdad Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I was unsure of my thoughts about the cull, I just hope that they have a suitable reason which does not imply that pressures from antis and looneys like Brian May is effective as I fear that they may become more persistent due to their perceived success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 according to that article, it's due to badgers numbers being nearly double what was expected in the region! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshie Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 according to that article, it's due to badgers numbers being nearly double what was expected in the region! Twice as many. Surely more reason to cull, not less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatcatsplat Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Has anyone considered the badgers feelings on this? Must be like living on Death Row every day, with these last minute reprieves. Their nerves must be shattered!! On a more serious note, take a look at anything these days where there has to be a controversial decision (in this instance, culling(killing) badgers) and the agreement parties will be on tenterhooks, double and triple checking, making sure they have dotted every i and crossed every t as they will have every animal charity and their supporters on their backs with legal representation within seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougall Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I am not sure the case for the cull was well argued. I think the cull has been postponed until next year not cancelled.(although htat may be political speak for cancelled with a bit of face saving).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxie Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Like it or not,public opinion against the cull is so strong that a u turn was inevitable.Getting re-elected is the politicians main driving force. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Twice as many. Surely more reason to cull, not less. ah but because of the controversy they have a limited time to do the cull and they can't use cage traps all the time, add to that the weather and it would be very hard to get the numbers required to make it work. If they don't get the numbers then they won't achieve anything, this has to be done properly to get any decent data back. Even those numbers I would suggest may be optimistic as we all know the populations are growing very fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiedenny Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 unfortunately the anti's will be flag waving and touting this as entirely their own achievement (a large majority probably is due to them). I am passionate about the cull because I believe it is the right thing to do, unfortunately the arguement was poorly constructed and unable to stand up against emotive questioning. If the numbers have doubled then it certainly should be shelved becuase it needs further planning, but all the public will know it is because Brian May wore a badger on his jacket. It was sadly inevitable that this was going to happen. In 10 years time when our cattle have been ravaged and too many people have lost everything, being able to say I told you so isn't going to be enough of a reward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 s so brian may has won then, as said give into them every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepasty Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 theres an easy solution to all this, badgers were protected to stop badger baiting... simply take them off the protected list (they arent endangered and never were) and make badger baiting a VERY serious offence. Their numbers have exploded as they have no natural predators and are having a field day with all the free food we're supplying them... if the farmers werent farming the badgers wouldnt be there in the first place.... not at the current numbers anyway. I'm not a farmer but have many farming friends, the financial and emotional damage of getting tb infected cattle is aweful... many are closed dairy farms with no contact with any external cattle. I personally couldnt shoot a badger but having seen their effect I can see why a farmer needs to control them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 On a lighter note, it is only being postponed until next year, not cancelled. Not exactly a good thing but better than having it stopped completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxtav Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Biggest problem is the way it was presented by the Government as they never put forward a well structured argument for or against the cull. Instead it was mixed up, muddled and gave every chance for people against the cull to sway public opinion and just dismiss any scientific evidence as rubbish. I must admit that looking at what was presented I cannot see any good arguments for or against it. If it was presented in a better manner and not the cack handed way the government has done as it has with just about every other thing thay have proposed or done we may have had a better debate and got better evidence convincing people that the cull was needed to properly assess the results. As it stands it's just another half baked cock up by the government. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SakoQuad Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I imagine the Gov felt it was between a rock and a hard place when a large group of scientists came out against it publicly at the weekend stating there was no valid scientific base to the argument for a cull. I also heard someone on the radio saying there was now no chance of culling the required number (percentage) of badgers given the new population estimates, within the time-frame available before the breeding season / winter restricted any shooting so better to be postponed. My guess is that this will be the last we see of the plan because the public emotions about the cull would make any Government think twice as they draw near to an election! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 I think now's the perfect time to do it. While Brian May and his chums are congratulating each other on a job 'well done' and their collective guards are down, get in and shoot the bloody things. If, on the other hand the govt. have no intention of carrying out a cull then say so now and stop dragging the whole thing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 If anybody had bothered to have a walk in the woods they would soon have seen that there are ****** thousands of them around, endangered my ****. How many do you need ? There are huge areas of Kent, and probably other counties, that have no livestock and massive badger setts. Why not make these areas a badger reserve and get them off the cattle country ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I imagine the Gov felt it was between a rock and a hard place when a large group of scientists came out against it publicly at the weekend stating there was no valid scientific base to the argument for a cull. I also heard someone on the radio saying there was now no chance of culling the required number (percentage) of badgers given the new population estimates, within the time-frame available before the breeding season / winter restricted any shooting so better to be postponed. My guess is that this will be the last we see of the plan because the public emotions about the cull would make any Government think twice as they draw near to an election! I believe the nfu had a part to play in the delay, because they know they have one chance to do it to prove it will work it has to be done right. With the extra numbers believed to be present and the weather going into winter isn't the time to make a fast impression on numbers. sadly it just gives the antis more time to intimidate farmers involved, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheruk Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 Like it or not,public opinion against the cull is so strong that a u turn was inevitable.Getting re-elected is the politicians main driving force. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikk Posted October 24, 2012 Report Share Posted October 24, 2012 I believe the nfu had a part to play in the delay, because they know they have one chance to do it to prove it will work it has to be done right. With the extra numbers believed to be present and the weather going into winter isn't the time to make a fast impression on numbers. sadly it just gives the antis more time to intimidate farmers involved, I agree with the first part but on the second I'm 50/50. Public opinion is fickle...look at the student demos and tuition fees...no one mentions it anymore and it was only 5 minutes ago. Once the steam dies off and people get obsessed with the next big thing to be a part of it might just leave the hardcore few who are always there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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