Badger cull to curb cattle TB 'rejected'
Ministers have reportedly decided against a badger cull to limit cattle TB
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Friday, 04, Jul 2008 09:27
A cull of badgers in England to control the spread of TB in cattle will not go ahead, ministers have reportedly decided.
The issue has sparked controversy between farmers and some conservationists for a number of years.
Environment secretary Hilary Benn was expected to make a decision on the issue next week but reports today claim that ministers have decided against a cull.
This goes against the recommendations of the former chief scientific adviser, Sir David King.
Last year he recommended that "removal of badgers should take place alongside the continued application of controls on cattle".
Bovine TB is a serious disease of cattle which has become a major problem for British farmers.
Badgers have been implicated in spreading the disease and between 1973 and 1998 cattle-based TB controls were supplemented by various forms of badger culling.
In June last year a report from the Independent Scientific Group (ISG) warned that this culling has not had a positive effect on reducing the spread of disease and some policies "are likely to make matters worse rather than better".
It added that future badger culls would not make a "meaningful contribution" to controlling cattle TB.
If the government backs the recommendations of the ISG rather than Sir David, a protest by the National Farmers Union (NFU) is likely to go ahead.
NFU president Sir David King told the BBC that Westminster had "ducked the issue".
On today's reported decision, a spokesperson for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said they would not comment on leaks.
"Hilary Benn is due to make a statement in due course," she added.