Badgers and TB

[watervole]

Having had the depressing fox-hunting discussion, I thought, why not badgers.

We're all hoping (and some people are in serious denial) that there will prove to be no link between badgers and TB in cattle.

What if there is a link? What happens then?

I do not want to see culling of badgers, but I've spoken to dairy farmers who have had their entire herds destroyed. You have to feel for them.

Does there exist a vaccine that can be reliably told apart from the actual disease if an animal is tested? (I believe that's been the big stumbling block for vaccination in the past.)

Should we pay farmers compensation for animals destroyed if there are badgers in the area? Should we destroy the badgers? (Research shows that new badgers often move in to the area and that culling healthy badgers might result in infected ones moving in.)

What options are there? What are the best bets for keeping our badgers and still allowing dairy farmers to survive?

Comments

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Research I've seen summarised suggests that attempts at culling can sometimes increase contact between cattle and badgers, because the badgers normally keep out of the way of cattle, but frightened or injured badgers behave abnormally.

[steverogerson.livejournal.com]

Even if there is a link, culling badgers is not the answer, but finding a cure is. We have virtually eradicated TB in humans, surely it can't be that difficult to do the same for cattle.

However, as you linked this discussion to the fox hunting one, I have to say that I regard badger baiting in the same league as fox hunting and am glad the latter is about to join the former in being an illegal obscene practice.