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	Buckinghamshire Badger Group
	"Protecting Badgers in Buckinghamshire"

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The State of Possible Badger Culls - 1st August 2008

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment (7th July) has thankfully decided NOT to proceed with a badger cull in England.

This is a brave move, causing anger in the farming community, however it is clearly the correct decision based on sound scientific evidence from the ISG report (see below).

The Welsh Assembly are still hedging their bets, but we hope that they will see sense.  Please write to or email Elin Jones at the Welsh Assembly with your views.

18 June 2007
Dear Secretary of State,
FINAL REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC GROUP ON CATTLE TB

... First, while badgers are clearly a source of cattle TB, careful evaluation of our own and others’ data indicates that badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain. Indeed, some policies under consideration are likely to make matters worse rather than better. 

...Second, weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection. Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of disease can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone.

F J BOURNE

More information from the ISG

The Badger Trust Web Site

Chief Scientist anti-badger report

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