Concerning the Badger Cull.

Professor Rosie Woodroffe is a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Zoology of the Zoological Society of London.

She has just published an article in New Scientist magazine on the badger cull in the UK which the government here has just expanded so that up to 33,000 may be killed in parts of England over the next six weeks over an area of  over 8000 square kilometers of farmland.

Here are some key points that she made:

“The decision to expand badger culling… flies in the face of evidence that it won’t eradicate the disease.”

“Killing badgers seemed like an obvious solution, until a large-scale randomised field trial… showed that culling led badgers to roam more widely, increasing transmission within their own population and infecting cattle over wider areas.”

“The UK government has seen no clear benefits from three years of farmer-led culling in England.”

“The uncertainty over benefits contrasts with the costs. The culls cost UK taxpayers over £5 million in 2016 alone.”

“Badgers also pay a cost. Concerns that shooting causes an unacceptable level of suffering to badgers led the British Veterinary Association to withdraw its support for the approach.”