Badger cull put on hold in Wales

21 June 2011 Last updated at 16:10 GMT The cull had been part of an attempt by the previous Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition government to combat bovine TB.

Controversial plans for a badger cull in west Wales have been put on hold while a review is carried out.

The Labour-run Welsh Government says an independent panel of experts will examine the science involved.

The cull had been part of an attempt by the previous Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition government to combat bovine TB.

But Environment Minister John Griffiths said there would be no cull while the panel carried out its work.

The Labour-Plaid coalition had planned the cull alongside other measures to control TB in cattle in an area of north Pembrokeshire - the so-called Intensive Action Area.

The cull was revived in March, eight months after the coalition was forced to shelve the proposal following a legal challenge by the Badger Trust.

Labour, which is now governing alone, promised a "science-led" approach towards bovine TB in its manifesto for May's assembly election.

In a statement to AMs, Mr Griffiths said an independent panel of experts will be appointed by chief scientific adviser Professor John Harries to review the evidence for eradicating bovine TB. A report is expected in the autumn.

The minister's announcement will please wildlife groups who have opposed the cull, but will disappoint farming unions who urged Mr Griffiths to stick to the policy of his Plaid predecessor, former Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones.

Mr Griffiths denied a claim from Plaid that he was kicking the issue into the long grass. He said the Welsh Government was "fully committed to eradicating bovine TB" and recognised the impact of the disease on farming.

'Fully committed'

He added: "What happens after the review will depend on what report is delivered and what the verdict is."

Continue reading the main story

By effectively shelving the pilot cull, the Welsh Labour Government has cruelly betrayed the farming industry right across Wales”

End Quote Antoinette Sandbach AM Conservative More than ?12m was paid in compensation to farmers last year and about 10% of cattle farms in Wales are under movement restrictions because of TB.

"This impact should not and can not be sustained and so as a government we are committed to the eradication of bovine TB in Wales," Mr Griffiths said.

A regime of cattle surveillance and controls will continue during the review, including additional controls introduced in the action area in May last year.

Mr Griffiths told AMs it was too early to say whether positive signs of a reduction in bovine TB in recent months were part of a long-term trend.

Plaid AM Ms Jones said his statement was a "slap in the face" for farmers, adding: "In your first act you've let farmers down."

Conservative rural affairs spokeswoman Antoinette Sandbach said: "There is no question that this is a miserable day for our farmers.

'Legally flawed'

"By effectively shelving the pilot cull, the Welsh Labour Government has cruelly betrayed the farming industry right across Wales."

The Badger Trust said it maintained that the evidence behind the original decision to cull was "legally flawed and was likely to have been quashed by the High Court on judicial review".

But the trust welcomed a "rigorous review" of the cull and said it was "determined to take whatever legal steps are required to safeguard this protected species against unjustified slaughter". It said it hoped a judicial review of the cull could now be avoided.

Farmers' Union of Wales TB spokesman Brian Walters said culling was the only tried and tested way of reducing TB in cattle in places where the disease is present in badgers.

"We cannot keep stalling matters in order to avoid difficult decisions in relation to culling badgers," he said.

The RSPCA said it hoped the announcement was the first step towards the Welsh Government reversing the plans altogether.

Colin Booty, senior scientist for the charity, said: "Our position on this is extremely clear - we are firmly opposed to any plans for a widespread cull."

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Badger cull change is speculated

21 June 2011 Last updated at 06:58 GMT Cull plans were revived by the last government in March There is speculation that an announcement expected on controlling TB in cattle will mean a change in plans to cull badgers.

Environment Minister John Griffiths is due to make a statement on bovine tuberculosis (TB) policy on Tuesday.

Farming unions want ministers to stick with the cull - an attempt by the previous Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition government to combat TB in cattle.

First Minister Carwyn Jones has refused to say if the cull will go ahead.

The previous government planned the cull - advocated by then rural affairs minister Plaid's Elin Jones - alongside other measures to control TB in cattle in an area of west Wales.

The cull was revived in March, eight months after the coalition was forced to shelve the proposal following a legal challenge by the Badger Trust.

'Very grim day'

Continue reading the main story Iolo ap Dafydd BBC Wales environment correspondent

Will he keep to a badger cull, or will he try and duck out of it? Environment Minister John Griffiths has been tight-lipped and probably understandably nervous before his expected announcement on bovine TB.

The guessing is there may be a change, or partial change on the way. But the Welsh Labour party needs to show what new scientific evidence proves a delay, a halt or a modified policy merits a change.

Labour, now in government, will be wary of being seen to waste the long and expensive efforts undertaken by the previous coalition government of Labour and Plaid Cymru in the last three years, and throw that aside. However, it may be nervous of another legal challenge.

But it will be hard to just kick this into the long grass, as cattle farmers, especially in Pembrokeshire, have to work under stricter cattle movement controls that elsewhere. Bovine tuberculosis has cost Welsh taxpayers a ?100m during the past decade, as compensation payments for slaughtering infected cattle.

It will be interesting also if Mr Griffiths will change his stance since the plenary vote in March when he voted in support of the existing policy.

Maybe public opinion and playing a waiting game to see what the UK government might do in England, will all play a part in Tuesday's announcement.

Labour, who are now governing alone, promised a "science-led" approach towards bovine TB in its manifesto for May's assembly election.

Plaid rural affairs spokesman Llyr Huws Gruffydd told BBC Radio Wales that the Welsh Government must stick to the cull plan.

"If they don't it will be a very grim day for Welsh farming," he said.

"We've been through this quite recently and the decision was made that the cull was one part of a wider programme which includes other elements like increased bio-security and tighter restrictions on animal movement."

'Horrible disease'

Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black, an opponent of the cull, said: "I hope the government is going to announce they've finally taken notice of the science, abort the cull and introduce a vaccination program.

"The impact of a cull is to spread TB. A vaccination program would reduce the instances of TB."

NFU Cymru deputy president Stephen James called on Mr Griffiths to "do the right thing", adding: "We look to the new Welsh Government to continue and progress their commitment and to now take tangible action with a view to eradicating this horrible disease."

FUW TB spokesman Brian Walters said: "The previous Welsh Government's position was based on firm science, and a protracted review of the science will only make matters worse."

Celia Thomas, chairwoman of Pembrokeshire Against the Cull, said the government should be looking at ways to vaccinate badgers.

"It's important to say we are not just sitting back. We are seriously looking at trying to get vaccination underway because TB is a huge problem," she said.

The Badger Trust said they would refrain from commenting until after the announcement was made.

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UK public 'opposes badger cull'

8 June 2011 Last updated at 04:01 GMT By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News The badger (Meles meles) is a protected species under UK and European laws A majority of Britons in both town and country oppose killing badgers to curb cattle tuberculosis, an opinion poll for the BBC suggests.

Across the UK, about two-thirds oppose the measure, with majorities against culling in every age group, every region and across both genders.

The coalition has pledged to introduce culling in England, but recently admitted it may not happen.

And separate plans in Wales are on hold following the recent election.

Badgers can carry the bacterium that causes TB and transmit the disease to cattle herds.

The poll, commissioned by the BBC News website from pollsters GfK NOP, is believed to be the first time that the UK public has been asked a simple "yes or no" on the issue.

Across the country, 63% of the thousand adults polled by phone said badgers should not be killed for cattle TB, with 31% in favour of culling and the remainder undecided.

The proportion opposed was virtually identical in urban and rural areas.

Jack Reedy of the Badger Trust, which is leading opposition to a cull, described the result as "heartening".

But, he suggested, decisions should ultimately be made on the basis of science.

Continue reading the main story

The government's commitment to look at introducing a carefully managed and science-led policy of badger control... is the only light at the end of a very dark tunnel”

End Quote Peter Kendall NFU "This is an opinion expressed by a lot of people, so that's valuable," he told BBC News.

"However, we have to attend to the science, and that should not be a political argument - although a political argument has been imposed.

"If [politicians] do pay more attention, prompted by this poll result, I hope it will lead to a more balanced, sensible outcome that's fair on badgers, fair on farmers and fair on the general public as well."

But Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), said bovine TB was "out of control" in some areas and had to be stopped.

"In 1998 almost 6,000 cattle were slaughtered to control the disease, and in the UK in 2010, 32,737 animals were slaughtered," he said.

"For farmers, the government's commitment to look at introducing a carefully managed and science-led policy of badger control, as part of a package of measures, in areas where there is high and persistent levels of bovine TB, is the only light at the end of a very dark tunnel."

Government statistics show that the incidence of cattle TB declined slightly between 2009 and 2010, probably due to the escalation of TB testing on farms and restrictions on herd movements.

However, provisional figures indicate that incidence was slightly higher in the first two months of this year than in the corresponding period for 2010.

Town and country

The participants in the BBC/GfK NOP poll were asked whether they lived in a rural, urban or mixed setting.

Measures such as screening are reducing TB incidence, but are unlikely to eliminate it

In urban areas, 57% said they opposed the cull, with 33% in favour and the remainder undecided; in rural areas, the majority was 59% to 37%.

Those living in a mixed urban/rural setting showed the strongest opposition, with 68% against killing badgers and just 26% in favour.

Bovine TB costs the UK economy about ?100m per year, and has blighted farmers in areas such as southwest England.

But here, as in every other UK region, a majority of people in the BBC poll opposed culling.

The European badger (Meles meles) is a protected species under European and UK law, but ministers can sanction killing in certain circumstances, including to tackle disease.

Last year, Agriculture Minister Jim Paice announced government proposals that would allow farmers in England to organise shooting of badgers on their lands.

Applicants would have to satisfy a number of conditions, including:

the area must total at least 150 sq kmthere must be "high and persistent" levels of TB in cattlethe group can show it can access at least 70% of the land in the areathe group must commit to culling at least once per year for four years

Licensees would be allowed to trap the animals in cages and shoot them, or just shoot them as they roam - so-called "free shooting".

The previous Welsh Assembly Government proposed a different system for South Pembrokeshire, with contractors employed by the government to trap and shoot the animals.

Following May's election, the Welsh government is reviewing these plans and is likely to announce a new policy soon.

Mr Paice, meanwhile, has recently said badger culling in England may not be possible because the government may not be able to build a scientific case that could survive a legal challenge.

A particular concern is thought to be that the efficacy of free shooting has never been tested in a scientific study.

A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told BBC News that the "devastating" disease of bovine TB needed tackling.

"However, there are a range of factors we need to consider in making a decision on badger control, including public opinion, scientific evidence, animal health and the impact on farming communities," he said.

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