Unfortunately dear Letter Writer, the flaw in your thinking is that the doctors and vets can't agree that culling badgers is the cure, many will say that it's a completely pointless exercise and will achieve nothing.

The research on the subject seems to depend more on who is actually paying for it rather than scientific fact, which I would suggest, is as good a reason for peoples objections as is needed.

Of course, the proper solution is vaccination, both of cattle herds and badgers - after all it worked for us didn't it ? ...... Well it did until some Government buffoons decided we had got rid of TB so stopped the programme and didn't have the intelligence to think that people move around the world a lot more now, might pick the bugs up and bring them back to Blighty starting the whole cycle off again.

So why do you put yourself above the animals?

You had TB so should you have been "culled"?

Its wrong that any animal get culled because of something they have no control over.

In humans we say its ethnic cleansing. dont make it right does it

I am boycotting mik, cheese and steak until this madness ends.

Apart from the non-existent badger-related science to support a cull, we do know that density of cattle herds and movement of cattle are major factors in bTB prevalence. We also know that where bio-security measures have been put in place to help control bTB, these measures have often been flouted by the livestock industry itself.

We need less cattle, less movement of cattle, and a better appreciation that wildlife is not ours to exterminate for any reason, much less for the financial gain of these livestock farmers.

I'm not sure that killing cows *and* badgers is very forward thinking, especially if, they are "God's beasts".

Why not just vaccinate cows?

Badger culling is "ineffective", the expert behind the UK's biggest review of the links between badgers and tuberculosis in cattle, said on Monday.

Professor Lord John Krebs was the government adviser responsible for the scientific review in the 1990s which found that badgers were a "reservoir" of bovine TB and could transmit the disease to cattle. He called for trial culls, which were then carried out. But he said on Monday the results of the trials showed that culling was "not an effective policy" and would be a mistake."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/11/badger-culling-ineffective-krebs

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http://www.teambadger.org/

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What I cannot understand is how in England, there is this awful proposed cull which, if anyone understands the movement of both cattle and badgers, will only exacerbate the problem, and yet just over the border in Wales, they have opted for vaccination. How can they both be right? Why are English farmers so opposed to vaccination and hell bent on destroying a 'protected' species, whilst the Welsh ones are showing an intelligent appraisal of the situation?

On a totally different issue................

I dont like the new SS website. Where have all the blogs gone? I have tried and tried to find them but alas I find most opportunities for comments left blank. As I see it, there appears to be a complete lack of catering by The SS for the blogger.

Whats happened to The Original Jake, Mr Finch, Mr B-Black Me biscuit tin, Nistagmus and so many more. Am I missing something?

My dad had TB in 1953 when he was 6 yrs old and Spent the next 18 months having daily injections in his butt to save him! Wasn't the badgers fault he caught or developed the disease. I don't believe in culling the badgers, they are not bred for a food source they are our wild nature and we are wiping them out! We eat the beef for sure! We breed the cows to eat and milk CULL THE HERDS simple! Vaccinate the badgers and cull the herds we don't eat the badgers we eat the cows I don't personally want anymore chemicals in my food from vaccinating the cows cull them and breed more and leave our lovely wild life well alone! This country is disgusting and I'm no longer proud to be a Brit!!

WE CAN BREED COWS WE DON'T BREED BADGERS.

You are all pig ignorant about bovine tb.

If you knew half the story and had half a brain you might be able to form a sensible opinion on the problem but you don't and you haven't.

All you care about is having cheap food and jumping on the bandwagon when idiots like Brian May light the blue touchpaper.