Badger cull urged as latest figures show Bovine TB continues to spread

“@ kirijgreen

I am referring to the Thornbury trial reported in Epidemiol. Infect. (1995), 114, 179-193 179 where the work was carried out by staff at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Surrey. Data was provided and verified by MAFF in the south-west region. The cull area covered 104km2 in Gloucestershire and Avon and the data extends from 1966 to 1992. It follows that the data is likely to be reliable. Since it extends over such a long time frame, confidence intervals are small so results derived from this data can be considered to be meaningful.

On comparing total herd incidence in the Thornbury area with incidence in the whole of the South West, TB levels dropped to a quarter of those recorded in the whole of the South West when reference is made to TB levels just before culling started. When herd incidence of confirmed cases only are looked at, no confirmed cases occurred for 10 years after culling stopped in 1981.

Thornbury was chosen partly because it was an area known for persistent TB. Levels in this area were very high in this area compared to the rest of the country and had remained so since Great Britain gained attested status for cattle testing in 1960.

@ Clued-Up

Faced with these results how can tight cattle movement controls and good farm bio-security be considered to be an effective way of eradicating the disease in areas where the disease is persistent?

Absolute rubbish!”

“@ ssimples, which cull are you referring to in Gloucestershire? The 100% eradication clean ring trial? If so, please note that the government only plan to kill 70% of badgers NOT taking into account if they are infected before killing more....”

“34250 cows with TB nation wide in 2011.

21512 cows with TB nation wide in 2012.

377 new TB cases in 2010, 400 in 2012, pretty much the same, no statistical significance mathematically there in other words, it's 'on trend' i.e. normal.”

“@ Clued-Up

How can bTB be primarily transmitted cattle to cattle when after a thorough cull of badgers in a Gloucestershire hotspot where cattle measures had failed to have any impact after many years of trying, no confirmed cases of TB were found for 10 years after two years of culling and 4 years of preventing re-colonisation?

What good do you think tightening up cattle restrictions is going to do in view of these results?

Please look at the data and have a little think!!”

“@ Clued-Up

How can bTB be primarily transmitted cattle to cattle when after a thorough cull of badgers in a Gloucestershire hotspot where cattle measures had failed to have any impact after many years of trying, no confirmed cases of TB were found for 10 years after two years of culling and 4 years of preventing re-colonisation?

What good do you think tightening up cattle restrictions is going to do in view of these results?

Please look at the data and have a little think!!”

“Hi Lepista and grannyonline -

You must have misread the headline. It says Bovine TB continues to spread. There were 400 new cases of Bovine TB in Cornwall last year - that may be 13 fewer new cases than in 2011 but it is still 400 new cases and that clearly shows the disease is spreading.”

“Yet anothe pityfull headline when TB cases actually DECREASD in Cornwall . Is this supposed to be a proffesional journo??”

“In what way is a reduction from 413 to 400 cases consistent with your headline? It's a 3.1% drop, in one year.

Don't forget, the badger cull is being touted (wrongly) that it will maybe provide, at best, a 17% drop in TB OVER 7 YEARS. That's only a 2.4% drop per year.

The culling of badgers is unscientific, morally outrageous, and is only being railroaded by the government to buy farmers votes, to show them that they "are doing something".

I urge everybody in the cull areas (and elsewhere) to register your protest at this totally unnecessary massacre by ensuring that you only buy your dairy products from farms that agree to have nothing to do with the cull. Together, we CAN make a difference.”

“In what way is a reduction from 413 to 400 cases consistent with your headline? It's a 31% drop, in one year.

Don't forget, the badger cull is being touted (wrongly) that it will maybe provide, at best, a 17% drop in TB OVER 7 YEARS. That's only a 2.4% drop per year.

The culling of badgers is unscientific, morally outrageous, and is only being railroaded by the government to buy farmers votes, to show them that they "are doing something".

I urge everybody in the cull areas (and elsewhere) to register your protest at this totally unnecessary massacre by ensuring that you only buy your dairy products from farms that agree to have nothing to do with the cull. Together, we CAN make a difference.”

“@ ssimples

Badger culling isn't politically possible now. It probably wasn't even when the NFU leadership began their lobbying for a badger slaughter programme.

The public have listened to what the UK's leading scientists have said (that killing badgers in their thousands for years will AT BEST achieve only a tiny reduction in cattle bTB and may even make it worse).

They know cattle bTB is primarily transmitted cattle to cattle and tight cattle movement controls and good farm bio-security are the best means we currently have of eradicating the disease.

They know it's just as easy and actually not more expensive (given security costs) to vaccinate badgers against bTB as to kill them.

And - most importantly - they know the cattle bTB vaccine might now be available to use in the UK IF DEFRA and the farmers hadn't wasted years lobbying for and trying to organise the mass killing of badgers.”