Badger Cull - Response by DEFRA

[walshie 2,804]

When I was off work a couple of weeks ago, I emailed Owen Paterson regarding his announcement that the badger cull was going to be cancelled/postponed and the fact it made this government look even more wishy-washy than normal with yet another public u-turn.

Needless to say, he didn't reply, but somehow the email got passed on to DEFRA for them to respond instead.

 

Here's a snippet of a very long-winded reply:

 

On 23 October, the NFU asked for culling to be postponed in 2012 and begin instead in summer 2013. The exceptionally bad weather over the summer put a number of pressures on farmers and caused significant problems. Protracted legal proceedings and the request of the police to delay the start until after the Olympics and Paralympics, also meant that the optimal time for delivering an effective cull had passed.

 

 

Am I missing something? Did the NFU really want it postponed or is this more gobbledegook?

[j j m 6,555]

u never know the truthe with them people mate

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Did the NFU really want it postponed or is this more gobbledegook?

 

Email them and ask?

[kenny14 656]

bad weather over the summer - maybe the shooters didn't want to go out in the rain

 

delay the start until after the Olympics and Paralympics - were any of the cull areas near the olympic stadium?

 

Just another load of complete bull intended to confuse, and hide the real reasons.

[Jamie m 668]

More tosh the government reckon it's to costly after the Olympics more tosh ,

[Malt 379]

All this bollocks about it being the wrong time of the year - it's exactly the right time of year now, there's a reason for hunting seasons.. Anybody who knows anything about culling certain speicies knows the winter is the most ethical time to do it..

[WILF 47,486]

Just shows how much influence the Beatrix Potter public have

[Bosun11 537]

I recon this'll be the last badger cull post I look at, unless one is reported. I really don't know why folk on here get so wound up about it... It's not like its gonna ever happen..!!

 

It's too high profile, always will be, when sommat like that is reported almost daily on the 10 O'clock news its gonna fall, no if's but's or maybe's and neither the goverment, DEFRA or the NFU would stick their necks out that far and steam roller it through, the media bats for the other side, the media is too big and too powerful and it's way too an emotive subject! Just stop and think about all the heads that would get chopped off, all those folk in high places, 'our' media, backed by those that seek to destroy us would have a fecking field day. We could go to war with France and it wouldnt get as much press! No different to the hunting act... Its's there to stay, get over it...

[Guest bezza]

A badger cull is obviously needed. Just look at the road kills within a mile or so of badger setts. There's probably no stats that show the number of human injuries/deaths caused by badgers, but I bet they are substantial.

The best way to sort out badger numbers would be for the government to stop compensating the farmers for every cow that contracts TB. The farmers would then sort out the problem themselves.

Edited November 5, 2012 by bezza

[WILF 47,486]

Why don't Brian May and the various interest groups pay the farmers compensation if they are wiped out by TB?.....sort of put their money where their mouth is?

 

It's easy to be high and mighty when it ain't your lively hood

[Lab 10,979]

A badger cull is obviously needed. Just look at the road kills within a mile or so of badger setts. There's probably no stats that show the number of human injuries/deaths caused by badgers, but I bet they are substantial.

The best way to sort out badger numbers would be to stop compensating the farmers for every cow that contracts TB. The farmers would then sort out the problem themselves.

Kick them when there down eh? You cant expect people to blatantly take the law into there own hands and risk a jail sentence just so they can make ends meet. I do agree though that people being quiet and sorting the problem themselves is a must. Time they started calling these antis bluffs. The cull is exactly that, a cull....to trim numbers back to a controlable number to see the outcome. Now the bunny huggers cant or will never understand that so get the gas out and decimate numbers all over the country and lets see a dent in the population!!

[BIG G wheton machine 1,594]

if the government really had the uks economy and best intrests at heart then they should take the free service offered by many hunting folk instead of ducking and diving all the time. the costs would dissappear overnight no more problems either and if they actually used theyre brain they could make money outa it by selling licenses like the fishing ones every year

[gonetoearth 5,144]

Slavery will return before terriers would be used a in the cull '!!!!

Edited November 5, 2012 by gonetoearth

[Guest bezza]

A badger cull is obviously needed. Just look at the road kills within a mile or so of badger setts. There's probably no stats that show the number of human injuries/deaths caused by badgers, but I bet they are substantial.

The best way to sort out badger numbers would be to stop compensating the farmers for every cow that contracts TB. The farmers would then sort out the problem themselves.

Kick them when there down eh? You cant expect people to blatantly take the law into there own hands and risk a jail sentence just so they can make ends meet. I do agree though that people being quiet and sorting the problem themselves is a must. Time they started calling these antis bluffs. The cull is exactly that, a cull....to trim numbers back to a controlable number to see the outcome. Now the bunny huggers cant or will never understand that so get the gas out and decimate numbers all over the country and lets see a dent in the population!!

 

No it's not kicking anybody.

Both farmers losses and badgers are being artificially protected. Hence the problem.

There was a lot of talk after Foot and Mouth disease that farmers would have to take out insurance so that if the disease ever returned, the insurance companies and not the taxpayer would take the hit. It never happened.

There were several instances of farmers deliberately infecting cattle with Foot and Mouth so that they could take advantage of the very generous compensation scheme.Who knows the same situation might be happening in the case of Bovine TB?

Take away the compensation and the badger population would plummet.

Fox hunting has continued with only a few prosecutions. I think farmers, like most organised fox hunting packs would be pretty much immune from prosecution .

[Lab 10,979]

A badger cull is obviously needed. Just look at the road kills within a mile or so of badger setts. There's probably no stats that show the number of human injuries/deaths caused by badgers, but I bet they are substantial.

The best way to sort out badger numbers would be to stop compensating the farmers for every cow that contracts TB. The farmers would then sort out the problem themselves.

Kick them when there down eh? You cant expect people to blatantly take the law into there own hands and risk a jail sentence just so they can make ends meet. I do agree though that people being quiet and sorting the problem themselves is a must. Time they started calling these antis bluffs. The cull is exactly that, a cull....to trim numbers back to a controlable number to see the outcome. Now the bunny huggers cant or will never understand that so get the gas out and decimate numbers all over the country and lets see a dent in the population!!

 

No it's not kicking anybody.

Both farmers losses and badgers are being artificially protected. Hence the problem.

There was a lot of talk after Foot and Mouth disease that farmers would have to take out insurance so that if the disease ever returned, the insurance companies and not the taxpayer would take the hit. It never happened.

There were several instances of farmers deliberately infecting cattle with Foot and Mouth so that they could take advantage of the very generous compensation scheme.Who knows the same situation might be happening in the case of Bovine TB?

Take away the compensation and the badger population would plummet.

Fox hunting has continued with only a few prosecutions. I think farmers, like most organised fox hunting packs would be pretty much immune from prosecution .

So you think this is some under hand game that the farmers are playing for compo'...?.. That they want there prize livestock to be taken away.? And you dont believe for one minute that some badgers go missing already surely?... If the scheme was put to the general public that if the cull does not go ahead it will hit them directly in the pocket through taxes they would be running them over themselves...maybe a good way to go about it instead of them listening to that cretin Brain May!!..