DISTRIBUTION OF TB IN CATTLE, BADGERS AND OTHER WILDLIFE

  Although it is said to be not fully understood why significant TB is confined to certain areas of the south-west of England, I support the view that there is one underlying factor responsible for this phenomenon.

  When the MAFF Attested Herds Scheme became compulsory in 1950, the scheme began in Scotland and subsequently worked southwards area by area. By reason of sales and movement of unattested catle this resulted in infected cattle being steadily swept down country and finally towards the south-west. Although the Attested Herds Scheme was indeed a brilliant success in radically reducing the reactor rate country-wide to an extremely low level, I believe it also resulted in the creation of a reservoir of infection in the south-west regions of the country.

  Other factors such as the relatively warm climatic conditions of the south-west predispose the propagation of Bovine TB from whatever source. Many other factors such as farm management practices including overstocking, poor quality grazing and excessive use of anti-biotics that undermine the natural immune response of animals to infection, are all part of the problem. These factors all need to be researched on a proper scientific basis. Although MAFF have stated what the costs of the culling experiment are estimated to be, they have declined to make any public statement as to what resources are to be put into intensified research and development of vaccines and improved diagnostic tests.

THE BADGER CULLING EXPERIMENT

  As with the previous failure of culling to have any significant effect on the TB problem, the latest experiment is I believe, inevitably going to result in yet another fiasco and public relations disaster in a farming industry already tarnished by BSE. Thousands of badgers will have died in vain. The earlier unresearched and barbaric gassing of thousands of badgers in their setts with no effective result and with the evidence buried, is going to be reflected by the latest experiment's callous disregard for the lives of what is almost our last remaining truly native large mammal.

  It is claimed that compared to previous actions against the badger, this is now being carried out on a proper scientific basis. I believe that this will be doomed to failure from the start because the reactive and no-cull areas intended to be used as controls will be meaningless due to the known illegal killing of badgers in these areas by farmers.

  A recently televised appeal to farmers by MAFF earnestly asking them to stop killing in these areas fell on deaf ears and a categoric refusal to comply with the law which bans such actions without a special licence from the Ministry. Many farmers are known to cruelly destroy whole families of badgers by flooding setts with slurry or other toxic fluids such as creosote etc, even though they are committing a criminal offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. The tragedy of this is that most, although not all farmers have been conditioned by the government to believe that all badgers carry TB and are infectious, which is far from the truth.

  If culling goes ahead on the scale intended and with such an open-ended strategy, where will it all end? Firstly it will certainly be quite impossible to trap and shoot all badgers in the selected areas. MAFF themselves, in a 1976 statement described how it was "impossible to live-trap all the badgers associated with a breakdown herd". Many badgers will escape and migrate to other areas when they realise that members of their family or group are going missing or even witness them being trapped and shot. Escaping badgers will eventually integrate with groups in other areas and, if infectious, may well infect another otherwise healthy group thus exacerbating the problem rather than reducing it.

  The badger is essentially a family and social group orientated creature and the break up and destruction of their families and group members will cause great stress and trauma. I know from my own experience caring for badgers that they are sensitive creatures and are capable of emotional stress. As in humans it is well known and accepted that stress, trauma and deprivation are prime factors in the propagation of TB. With so much at stake we should never under-estimate the capacity of social animals to experience trauma and stress. When we accept this it can be seen that cruelty and persecution will only worsen the spread of TB. Examples of a similar nature can readily be seen in the case of dairy cattle when they are suddenly taken away from their familiar environment and their companions. When this happens their milk yield invariably plummets and may take months to recover.

  MAFF announced that there is to be a "closed season" for culling from 1 February to 30 April. this presumably was derived from the 1982 MAFF Control Manual. This period is completely at odds with the recommendations of English Nature and other experts who stipulate a period from November to June for non-disturbance of badgers during the breeding season. In the south-west many badgers give birth as early as January and as late as March or even April. Implimentation of the announced closed season means that many lactating sows could be killed thus leaving their cubs to starve to death in their setts. Many young cubs are common in May and are still being suckled. To inflict such suffering can in no way be right.

  The Minister's decision that snares will not be used for capture of badgers is to be welcomed. However it is regrettable that experiments are to be carried out under Home Office licence on the use of leg cuffs. It should be a foregone conclusion that leg cuffs or leg hold traps of any description will cause great suffering to a badger. A mature adult badger, especially a male, is a very heavy and strong animal and severe injury will inevitably result in its effort to escape. This will be particularly so if cuffs are left unchecked for even a relatively short time. There should be no experimentation with such instruments of torture.

SOURCES OF INFECTION

  The MAFF proposition that the primary source of transmission of the bacillii of the Mycobacterium bovis organism from badgers to cattle by way of badger faeces or urine is based solely on circumstantial evidence. there is however no scientific evidence to prove that this occurs under normal field or farm conditions.

  The vast majority of badger setts are located in woodland areas. The badger is essentially a clean animal and their faeces are deposited in dung pits (latrines) which are normally sited in the immediate vicinity of their setts. The only exceptions are the dung pits that are used as territory markers. Their territorial boundaries commonly follow natural boundaries such as hedgerows, fences and ditches etc and it is at these locations that most marker dung pits will be found, very few being out in the open pasture of their feeding grounds. It is commonly observed that grazing cattle will by choice avoid these dung pits unless the pasture is over-grazed.

  Conversely, cattle are not in any way selective about where they defaecate or urinate. In consequence if any cattle are infectious, within a relatively short time, a whole field of grazing can become a source of cross infection from cattle to cattle and from cattle to badgers. (Brown, 1993) determined that at high population densities, badgers deposit 98.5 per cent of faeces and 52 per cent of urination at their latrines. Lower densities resulting from culling operations causing abnormal behaviour of badgers will adversely affect this pattern.

PROCEDURES AND PERSONNEL

  If as stated by MAFF, they intend to continue with culling in default of the Berne Convention decision, the Committee should obtain firm assurance from those involved and the "independent witness" the identity of whom has not been divulged, that strictly controlled procedures will be adhered to. Such things as segregation of badger corpses both during transport to and during post-mortem operations. Open wounds on one badger, if infectious and coming into contact with another badger also having an open wound could invalidate analysis results. This may sound obvious but such instances have been recorded in earlier operations.

  MAFF have stated that all work on the culling experiment is to be carried out by trained staff from MAFF's Wildlife Unit. However a recent advertisement publicised in the west country area called for 30 recruits "no experience required". It should be known what these people are required for and whether their credentials are being thoroughly checked out. Undesirable characters have been known to infiltrate previous culling operations using the chance to pursue their perverted activities without risk of prosecution.

12 January 1999