Welsh welcome badger cull decision
The NFU Cymru and the Farmers Union of Wales have both welcomed the High Court decision that proposals to cull badgers in England to control bovine TB are legal, and have criticised the Welsh Government’s failure to stand up to the Badger Trust.
The FUW’s TB spokesman, Brian Walters, said: “The judge has made it clear that the English decision is legal and that licenses to cull badgers ‘for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease’ can be issued.
“The decision highlights the extreme contrast between the Welsh Government’s failure to grasp the nettle and the Westminster Government’s decision to stand by a robust decision in order to save the lives of cattle.
He continued: “The scientific and economical arguments in favour of a badger cull in Wales are irrefutable. The Welsh Government’s own figures suggest that vaccination will lead to an overall loss of £3.5 million, whereas a cull would have actually saved money as well as cattle lives.”
Stephen James, the NFU Cymru’s deputy president, commented: “It does, however, only deepen the disappointment and frustration among the farming community in Wales that the Welsh Government will not pursue a similar policy in the Intensive Action Area of North Pembrokeshire where it is known the disease is endemic in the badger population.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
