Badger cull to be extended into Dorset , even though it doesn't work

More joined up thinking from the government will see the failed cull of badgers that was started in Gloucestershire and Somerset opened up to Dorset so it can fail there too , the badgers will be shot on sight as has been happening in Gloucestershire and Somerset , the estimated cost per badger shot is £3,300.
The aim of the cull is to stop to transfer of tuberculosis from badgers to cattle , there is some debate as to whether the link is real or the badgers are just being made scapegoats for the transmission of the disease.

An independent body of experts have already said the method was not effective but in the all knowing , all seeing wisdom the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the cull is a worthy exercise and will carry on regardless.

A white knight in the form of Queen guitarist and campaigner Brian May has threatened to take legal action against Natural England, which issues the cull licences , if if the culls went ahead.

New targeted badger culls have been authorised across Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset this year, Defra said.
Other plans include a consultation on introducing compulsory testing for all cattle entering low-risk areas, such as the north and east of England, to reduce the risk of new TB cases.
While views would be sought on controlling TB in non-bovine animals such as pigs, goats and deer.
Earlier this week, rock guitarist and anti-cull protester Brian May threatened legal action if the culls went ahead.
He said his Save Me Trust would challenge the lawfulness of the culls, which are likely to restart in the autumn.
www.bbc.co.uk...

I'm not sure of the science involved but am against the cull , I think it's a backward way to deal with the problem.

a reply to: gortex

Lol, don't they know they are #ing with the most feared and fearless species in the planet?

You do not # with a badger and win.

Not wolves, not bears not even lions will # with a badger

Can't link it from my phone, bit YouTube " honey badger don't give a #"


Lol, just hilarious!

a reply to: gortex

Apart from the underlying science or lack of it.

the estimated cost per badger shot is £3,300.

Why, what are they using, missiles?

Assuming a .22 bullet at 20p and the time for someone to go hunting badgers, whose pocket is the rest of the money going in. 100 dead badgers, one would think fairly easy over a few months .... 330 thousand pounds, where do I apply for the job?

Jeez.

They love spending our money.

Actually, it would be a very interesting probe for a good investigative reporter to find out whose pocket it is lining. Could very well provide the real answer as to why the cull is going ahead.

S&F

P

originally posted by: pheonix358
a reply to: gortex

Apart from the underlying science or lack of it.

the estimated cost per badger shot is £3,300.

Why, what are they using, missiles?

Assuming a .22 bullet at 20p and the time for someone to go hunting badgers, whose pocket is the rest of the money going in. 100 dead badgers, one would think fairly easy over a few months .... 330 thousand pounds, where do I apply for the job?

Jeez.

They love spending our money.

Actually, it would be a very interesting probe for a good investigative reporter to find out whose pocket it is lining. Could very well provide the real answer as to why the cull is going ahead.

S&F

P

I was also wondering that, isn't 3,300 pounds like $5,500?

a reply to: johnwick

Actually, the British Badger might give you a nasty, and possibly infected nip, but unlike the Honey Badger, they do not go for the balls, and rip them off in a welter of gore and slashed femoral arteries. Although they are stout, and powerful for their size, they are not nearly as vicious as their near cousins, the Honey Badger.

Honey Badgers are usually smaller than British Badgers, and if anything, somewhat less powerful looking. Despite that, they are worthy of their reputation as one of the most aggressive and potentially dangerous animals walking the world today. The same cannot be said of British Badgers.

a reply to: pheonix358

As it's a government contract I believe the rule of thumb is think of a number then double or triple it.
It is a pointless costly exercise which is probably designed to keep farmers off the governments back by showing they're taking some action on the issue , even though the action they're taking has already been shown to be ineffective.

The authors of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), the largest experiment on bovine TB ever undertaken in the world, concluded that culling could make no meaningful contribution to the control of bTB in cattle in Britain because the well-documented 'perturbation' effects of disease spread when badger populations are disturbed, and also because the costs of implementing the badger cull outweigh the economic benefits gained due to a reduction in bTB
badgertrust.org.uk...

Badgers!?!
We don't need no stinking badgers!

What's that line from?

Sorry. Now on topic.
Have they suggested a more effective method?
Nip it in the bud.

a reply to: pheonix358

The excessive cost of the recent badger cull was due to the high police costs to keep order and keep protesters away. The people who do the culling are professional "pest" controllers.

I don't like the badger cull. That's my position. I happen to like badgers and live in a rural idyll where I often see them in my garden and beyond. I feel that shooting badgers is better than gassing them, or tolerating uncontrolled baiting and other measures of control. Shooting them may best option, in a poor bag. I say this because TB in cattle is not nice and also destroys livelihoods.

I don't like the cull, but am in two minds whether it is necessary.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Have they suggested a more effective method?

I don't know if it's more effective but there is a Badger vaccine that would help reduce the risk of transmission.
I assume the government see the cost of that exercise prohibitive though , easier to just shoot them.

The licenced Badger BCG vaccine should be used immediately. The vaccine is effective in reducing the incidence of bTB in both individual animals and on a population basis, for example by protecting new-born cubs. Such protection of badgers is likely to have a positive impact upon the disease incidence in cattle. The current vaccination method by injection is not ideal, as individual badgers must be caught and vaccinated, and there is urgent need for on-going research on the production of an oral baited vaccine to be prioritised
badgertrust.org.uk...

My fellow badgers and I are very displeased with this.

a reply to: johnwick

well...a honey badger is not a badger. Its a completely different animal more closely related to weasels and otters.

That said...you are right....badgers are not to be trifled with. They have the same nasty attitude, and enormous claws.

If you have range land that is used, you shoot them on site here. And you certainly don't let them live on the same acreage as your home.

What do badgers taste like?

I would try it.

a reply to: butcherguy

Apparently badger casserole is really nice.

His favourite way to cook a badger is to dust the whole animal with flour and herbs - head included - before seasoning and braising it for five hours with whatever vegetables he has in the house.
www.mirror.co.uk...

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: butcherguy

Apparently badger casserole is really nice.

His favourite way to cook a badger is to dust the whole animal with flour and herbs - head included - before seasoning and braising it for five hours with whatever vegetables he has in the house.
www.mirror.co.uk...

I will have to wait a while. We don't have any badger populations near me.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Badgers!?!
We don't need no stinking badgers!

What's that line from?

Sorry. Now on topic.
Have they suggested a more effective method?
Nip it in the bud.

UHF the Weird Al Yonkovic movie. And don't forget that the turtle is nature's suction cup!

I think the UK needs to start a Doxie breeding program. Outstanding little badger killers....and my favorite breed of dog in general.

On topic:

This is an example of how inefficient government is. It reminds of when there was a large park land in this area that was over run by deer. Instead of shutting off the park and selling deer licenses to bow hunters (city has allowed bow licenses to areas in city limits for a while comparable to this one), the early license for a shot at the big buck alone would have made perhaps tens of thousands for the city .... they decided to specially train police snipers to do the culling at a cost of thousands for every sniper trained.

So a make money proposition was turned into a cost money proposition and the deer were culled either way.

Heck, the meat wasn't even donated to local food pantries. Something about safety regulations, so they threw it out. Hunters would have likely taken their kill home or had it butchered and donated it themselves as there is no rules against it and pantries take it all the time. But the city itself couldn't do it.