THE preliminary announcement on Wednesday, August 24 of five new pilot badger culls out of an initial 29 possible areas, includes Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Herefordshire.

But whilst this political implementation of the Tory manifest is to be warmly welcomed, and predictably greeted with joy by Catherine McLaughlin of the NFU (National Farmers Union), Sean Wensley of the BVA (British Vet Association), and Ross Murray of the CLA Country Landowners Association, one cannot but help wonder if this is sensible on four fronts, and whether Greeks bearing gifts ought to be be another case of beware of what you wish for:- costs, practicality, effectiveness, accidentally inciting: “Civil wars and more public entertainment!”

One of the most overlooked aspects of the three pilot culls so far 2013-15, in Glos. Somerset, Dorset is that they cost an eye-watering £25 million, of which c. £7 million was in extra policing, in order to protect the shooters from the protestors (or vice versa).

So carrying out another year of culls in eight areas will probably cost a further £28 million, with at least £8million in extra policing. Is this really a wise use of scarce DEFRA/ police funds and resources, in the name of political expediency pursued way beyond the point of absurdity as vet David Coffey said way back in the mid-1970s.

A cull for all seasons? It is rather bizarre, that if badger culls are so urgent to allegedly stop the spread of “CATTLE TB”, that they are now traditionally not started until September, instead of four months earlier at the end of the cub closed season in May. As an experienced badger guy, a watcher for some 55 years, I have actually seen c. 43 badgers over the last eight days. At a handful of setts where badgers are still resident Many main setts are still “vacant” as families live away in secondary setts until the autumn. But, we are rapidly approaching the stage of seeing “blurry white” blobs, it is very dark under the trees at emergence at 7.30 on, so that will not be helpful for shooters. Also, although badgers are short of worm food in these dry conditions, there is still super-abundant food: - Dor beetle under cow pats, grain spillage, etc. So even peanut bait may fail to draw in hungry brocks?

Neither badger culls or badger vaccinations actually work. The £50 million RBCT/Krebs cull of 11,000 badgers did not make any difference to accumulated herd breakdowns, in reactive cull versus no cull areas 356 vs 359 confirmed breakdowns. And even farmers , and chief vet Christianne Glossop, now recognises that the £5 million Welsh IAA vaccine trial had absolutely no effect on cattle TB. So the 3 pilots cull of 3943 badgers from c. 450 sq.km, will have had nil effect either.

Probably only a dozen might have been super-excretor high risk badgers anyway.

No-one seems to have noticed, but over this three-year period, within the national “TB Reservoir, Out There”, there were only a dozen risky badgers, as contrasted with 112,500 reactor cattle. It is an absolute disgraceful case of criminal negligence and incompetence, that chief vet Nigel Gibbens, has failed to explain to farmers that all the herd breakdowns supposedly “due to badgers” are as re-discovered in DEFRA’s post-movement testing consultation in August last year, simply caused by cattle newly infected, with early TB, hence without visible lung lesions/ hence unconfirmed cases.

Pre and post-movement tests from last April from hotspot areas. Since foot & mouth, out of c. 450,000 cattle removed, c. 270,000 were unconfirmeds; and near 20 million cattle movements a year is what is spreading TB, not badgers. DEFRA cannot seem to understand either that herds with chronic TB under restriction 5-10-16+ years simply need a different, ie. late TB antibody fast blood test ENFER, ENFERPLEX, IDEXX Ab , or Cath Rees, Nottingham university “”New Blood test for bovine TB (Google it)PHAGE/PCR blood test.

And lastly, as explained in Dominic Dyer’s brilliant new book Badgered to Death, EC Head of the Health and Food Safety Directorate Bernard van Goethem, jokingly commented on the wisdom of the €30 million “gift” to GB’s TB scheme, that cattle movements are something of another national pastime.. The forthcoming 8 Pilot cull areas will be met again by now-traditionally organised “civil war” protestors, in 21st century England’s green and pleasant land. Rather amusing that despite the hunting ban, Saturdays on Exmoor will have 75-100 land rovers, 4 by 4s and quadbikes out from Exeter , Taunton, etc for a familys fun day out. And of course Bernie is right, there are a dozen or more high profile agricultural shows annually, which are the perfect way to pass TB on to new herds. Hilarious that Chief vet Nigel Gibbens reckons that post-movement testing after shows ought to be mandatory . Whether cattle have caught TB from other cows or those terrible badgers, it will still take 6-12 months before their new infection will be detectable by skin testing. A nation led by donkeys ?

The Great Badger farce goes on, culls and vaccinations are a wonderfully insane solution to a non-existent problem. Badgers are victim not villain, simply catching TB via worms and Dor beetles under cow pats.

Martin Hancox

Ex-government TB panel

Stroud