Badger Cull

[ThursdayLast]

Anyone have any opinions on the badger cull?
Or the protests surrounding them?

it is supposed to be market value.

problems arise when it is a special cow, so worth more than standard market value. ie a show quality animal, a special bloodline, irreplaceable.

it is also hard to replace like for like. For example one of the cows we lost was 7 months in calf, so would have had another soon as a replacement for the future.

It is also more of an impact than just the loss of that one cow.

You cannot move animals off your farm until you have had 2 clear tests. a minimum of which will be approx 6 months as the tests can only be done 60 days apart.

If you don't get a clear test of course it can be an ongoing problem.

Then you have to feed and house extra cattle - or have them destroyed.

and as far as I am aware you cannot buy replacement cattle while under tb restrictions either, so potentially your income is very much reduced.

jelly,

I had to find out the answer before I could reply. Caz has pretty much said it all anyway.

They get what is supposed to be a market value, it is generated from the average sales taken from the last three months, and believe it changes monthly. I believe (v approx) it to be about 70% of the value, but does not take the individual animal into account.

That compensation financially is still only the cull sale value, her value at the end of her working life...not the value of her productivity...IYSWIM.

And it is scant compensation for the logistical nightmare that TB testing, and being under restriction entails. You have v limited options to sell, more animals to feed but less money coming in to house or supply feed! It's one of those lose lose situations for small scale farmers. Often creates a cash flow crisis, in farming you need to make money to spend money, otherwise it stagnates.

These things can lead to lowered standards of living for the farm animals...through no fault of the farmers.

And before I get another barrage of abuse I'm talking about SMALL SCALE FARMERS. Not landowners. Not intensive farming.

Farms with cattle numbering in the few or several hundred.

Please...no more political conspiracy!

Thank you for explaining, i understand a bit more now..i do sympathise with the small scale farmers, but am still 100% against the cull.

is anyone watching country file now?

there is a vaccination for badgers. its being used in some areas.

Missed it Vicar, but yes here in Pembs we're into our 2nd year of vaccination, after our cull was abandoned by the Welsh Assembly.. Thank god!

I missed it too, sure it will be on again though.

Sounds interesting...

I saw it.

It said there was a bovine vaccine bu the EU had banned its use.

It was said that it had yet to be ascertained if the vaccine would affect milk or meat.

It said that it hoped the vaccine would be available within10 years. !!

It seemed to imply that this programme of vaccine safety testing had not yet even started.

I think there was a little hint of scepticism in the programme about the inaction of the EU in all this.

Then they interviewed some activists who vaccinated badgers.

So, as I always do in cases such as this I ask myself - if there is no rush to roll out a bovine vaccination programme, who is profiting from the current situation?

So who exactly is profiting from this?

Is it the pharma companies who sell the TB test kits that would be redundant if an effective vaccination were to be introduced.#

Is the phrama company that produces the current TB test kits the same company that is developing the vaccination. Is one pharma trying to freeze out the other?

Is it the vets - can't see how they would profit either way.

Is it the farmers - can't see that losing stock through TB benefits them at all.

So who is so keen for the current situation to endure?

I have just seen the notices that have been put up in Gloucestershire, warning the public at entrances to the live shooting areas, and feel sick.

There are many Wounded Badger Patrols (not animal activists!) being set up, to help wounded and dying animals. Seems i'm not the only one who thinks freeshooting is not a clean cut death.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-releases-figures-showing-badger-cull-case-was-exaggerated-by-flawed-bovine-tb-statistics-9130563.html