"The report states: In our opinion there is only a small chance of meeting the target without a step change in the urgency with which the issue is treated and the resources devoted to eradication. There needs to be a mindset of defeating rather than managing the disease."
"The evidence continues to show that badgers can provide a vector of the virus for cattle and vice versa. Denying badgers can be a risk can be a problem because then you have an unacknowledged source of virus that you aren't dealing with."
"Some people see that as automatically assuming one needs to cull badgers: that is not so, and the presence of a threat from badgers does not mean that one should in any sense be deflected from bearing down on the transmission in cattle."
Labour can end the badger cull only by implementing a Covid-19–style programme of widespread testing and vaccination for cattle and badgers, requiring much higher investment and strong political focus. The government pledged to end badger shooting by 2029. Badgers spread bovine tuberculosis (bTB) to cattle, causing herd losses and prompting extensive culling; over 210,000 badgers have been killed since 2013. bTB costs taxpayers and the cattle industry about £150m annually. Current investment in testing and vaccination is insufficient to suppress bTB. The national eradication target is 2038 but has only a small chance without urgent, resource-intensive action and a mindset to defeat the disease rather than merely manage it.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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