Interest in Badger Cull Pilot Programme
The pilot programme concerned with culling badgers to prevent the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis has met with approval within the farming sector. The National Farmer's Union (NFU) and the National Beef Association (NBA) have announced that they will jointly submit five 'expressions of interest' to the Department for Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) on behalf of farmers in areas heavily affected by Bovine Tuberculosis.
Cornish farmer Michael Hart argues that the pilots would “barely scratch the surface”. “Farmers around me feel it is not going to make a big difference unless it is rolled out more rapidly,” he said. Even if the pilots demonstrate the policy to be safe, humane and effective, a national expansion of the program to up to ten further locations would likely be delayed until summer 2013.
John Royle, the NFU’s chief farm policy adviser, said the NFU was “disappointed” about the timescale but recognised the need to be “realistic”. “There is a delay but we must now get those pilot areas right to pave the way for the second tranche of applications,” he added.
Ministers will select two areas for the pilots in January, and the six-week long pilots will begin in early autumn. The delay is due to the threat of legal action and the decision to postpone the pilots until after the forthcoming 2012 London Olympics to ensure that the Police can supply sufficient resources.
Security has been a major point of debate between Ministers and the Police, and the Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated that 'basic' policing in the cull areas alone will cost ￡500,000 a year and that ￡2 million in total should be set aside to “cover any unexpected increases in disorder form protest”. Defra and the NFU, however, hope that this will be an over-estimate.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
