Gassing Badgers on Countryfile...

[chrisjpainter]

The programme's just started, but there should be a report about badgers later on...should be an interesting programme - if the BBC don't bottle it, that is.

[Kes]

Bit of an emotional description of badgers vomiting and emitting distress calls when gassed 30 years ago with hydrogen cyanide. The 'professor' wasnt happy with carbon monoxide/dioxide - nobody mentioned nitrogen. The presenter was rather unimpressed with the farmer who suggested control should be left to countrypeople, suggesting they therefore knew better than scientists.

We shall see what else is said.

[clakk]

the usual antis dribble ,all badger gassing is inhumane and all farmers should be shot

[four-wheel-drive]

There was a program on TV some time ago about the death penalty and they looked at all of the different ways of killing people and it turned out that the best and simplist way is not using poisens or hanging or shooting people all that you need is nitrogen.

 

The air that we breath is mostly nitrogen with some oxagin if the oxagin is removed you just get verry happy and pass out and eventually die the only problem with this is lack of oxagin damages the brain so you have to make shore that no oxagin gets to the brain before the brain is dead this aplies to all living anemals.

Edited August 24, 2014 by four-wheel-drive

[figgy]

Think a bullet to the brain is quick simple and effective at getting the Badger numbers down.

 

Figgy

[STOTTO]

Think a bullet to the brain is quick simple and effective at getting the Badger numbers down.

 

Figgy

I agree but whose brain?

[CharlieT]

Think a bullet to the brain is quick simple and effective at getting the Badger numbers down.

 

Figgy

 

The problem is I don't want to see badgers numbers down, I want to see every infected badger dead. To me, it seems the only way to achieve this goal is to gas sets in areas with bTB. That way the eradication of infected badgers would not be a hit and miss affair (if you will excuse the pun) as it is with shooting but would guarantee that no badgers slipped through the net.

 

It would also cost me less to achieve a virtually 100% cull rate.

[Fisherman Mike]

 

The problem is I don't want to see badgers numbers down, I want to see every infected badger dead. To me, it seems the only way to achieve this goal is to gas sets in areas with bTB. That way the eradication of infected badgers would not be a hit and miss affair (if you will excuse the pun) as it is with shooting but would guarantee that no badgers slipped through the net.

 

It would also cost me less to achieve a virtually 100% cull rate.

I can understand your frustration but culling or killing of badgers will not prevent bovine TB...it has been tried in various methods for over 50 years.. personally I was involved in a gassing programme for the then MAFF in Gloucestershire in the 70's and we eradicated badgers from all known sets on a large predominantly dairy estate.

 

Result ? within 6 months badgers numbers were almost recovered... quickly moving in from other sets in other regions.

 

You would have to kill every last badger in the UK to stop this repopulation.

 

Its about time both sets of protagonists realised we have to turn to science for a solution as we did to eradicate TB in humans and if that's statutory inoculation of all bovine livestock raised in and imported into this country then the government should put their hands in their pockets and finance this programme.

 

Im no bunny hugger but lets not forget its the bloody cows which gave the badgers TB in the first place.

[rabbitraider1]

Bit of an emotional description of badgers vomiting and emitting distress calls when gassed 30 years ago with hydrogen cyanide. The 'professor' wasnt happy with carbon monoxide/dioxide - nobody mentioned nitrogen. The presenter was rather unimpressed with the farmer who suggested control should be left to countrypeople, suggesting they therefore knew better than scientists.

We shall see what else is said.

 

 

I think gassing badgers is the way forward for mass control, unfortunately don't think Nitrogen is going to be any use/ accepted, whilst its great in non burrowing animals e.g. people as we can't detect low oxygen just high Co2 and by having high nitrogen content you just suffocate without feeling a thing. Unfortunately there are a few well done research papers that suggest burrowing animals have the additional ability to detect low oxygen.

 

I highly doubt badgers were tested in the studies however so might be okay, but its certainly a risk, (I looked it up as part of a study into using Nitrogen as a method of killed livestock for slaughter and the studies have been published in journals)

 

Definitely worth looking into gases that might be accepted e.g. CO

[CharlieT]

I can understand your frustration but culling or killing of badgers will not prevent bovine TB...it has been tried in various methods for over 50 years.. personally I was involved in a gassing programme for the then MAFF in Gloucestershire in the 70's and we eradicated badgers from all known sets on a large predominantly dairy estate.

 

Result ? within 6 months badgers numbers were almost recovered... quickly moving in from other sets in other regions.

 

You would have to kill every last badger in the UK to stop this repopulation.

 

Its about time both sets of protagonists realised we have to turn to science for a solution as we did to eradicate TB in humans and if that's statutory inoculation of all bovine livestock raised in and imported into this country then the government should put their hands in their pockets and finance this programme.

 

Im no bunny hugger but lets not forget its the bloody cows which gave the badgers TB in the first place.

 

 

Without doubt, the way forward is cattle vaccination, which they are working on feverishly. The only problem is its some years away, and as my (closed) heard is, yet again, under restriction we need an interim solution that works now. Gassing seems, to me, to be the solution in areas such as mine.