Being at university gives me an incredible privilege of being able to access much more information and scientific material than the average person. This has allowed me to research not only what's requested of me through uni assignments, but also what sparks my interest. So I've obviously done quite a bit of work concerning badgers recently.
Much controversy surrounds bTB, but I'm really not sure why. George E. Pearce writes in his book Badger Behaviour, Conservation and Rehabilitation how, back in the 60's, the disease was fairly well eradicated in several parts of the UK. This was done by regular testing and culling, moving away from more vulnerable breeds and bloodlines, and by keeping the cow sheds uncrowded, cleaned and most importantly well ventilated. How was this possible back then, but it doesn't appear to be today?
Wales has decided against the badger cull. It was deemed by the Welsh Assembly Government to be unacceptable and illegal. However, England chose differently and are culling heavily in certain parts of the country. Which country has seen a drop in the rate of bTB? Wales. England's bTB has actually risen where targeted culls have been carried out.
For some reason the government seem to just want a scape goat, something to blame it all on rather than actually dealing with the issue, with better conditions and more regular testing. So badgers have been blamed, and so much so that farmers and the general public have been heartily convinced that badgers are the cause of the problem and the persecution continues. George E. Pearce insists that this is all wrong and that badgers are in fact contracting bTB from foraging in infected pastures. This makes far more sense if the whole thing is looked at logically.
So, what's the latest? A pack of hounds infected with bTB has now moved the focus elsewhere, probably only temporarily because of conflicting interests, and hounds are now being blamed for the spread of the disease. Yet another scape goat. Far more likely to have caught it from cows than to have passed it on to them. I honestly don't understand why the government isn't just dealing with the issue as it has done in the past.
I'm genuinely interested to hear people's thoughts on this one!
I totally agree with everything you say and I have thought along those lines for many years. I was in Wales during the last outbreak and witnessed many peculiar events too many to list here. All strange and not normal.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I don't understand it myself. There's lots of questionable stuff done by governments, but you can usually see how they benefit. This one just has me stumped!
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