Latest News

Above: Lorraine Barrett pictured with members of Badger Trust Cymru

Lorraine Barrett AM speaks out about Badger cull
posted on 16/04/2008

Speaking in Plenary on 15th April Lorraine Barrett AM said:
“In some ways this debate is academic after last week’s statement, and a Government spokeswoman has been quoted as saying that, now that it has been given the go-ahead, officials can begin work on the exact details of the programme. I am content with much of the programme, as the Minister knows, but I want this opportunity, nonetheless, to set out why I think that a badger cull will be futile, cruel and not effective.

In the battle of the scientists—Sir David King versus Professor John Bourne—Bourne has stated that King’s report was hastily written, superficial and selective. Given the amount of work done by the Independent Scientific Group—which was over 10 years’ worth of research, costing anywhere between £35 million and £50 million and involving 11,000 dead badgers—and given that David King and his team only met for one full day and that he admitted that his remit did not extend to the economics or practicalities of badger culling, I know who my money is on.

In Northern Ireland—and you would expect me to say this, Minister—tighter cattle testing has halved the incidence of disease in three years. There was no badger culling but more robust data on individual cattle movements. I welcome the Minister’s proposal to test all cattle, but I am disappointed that it is just a one-off for all cattle.

In the Republic of Ireland, the virtual extermination of the badger has failed to control the disease and, after five years, from the information that I have read, the number of TB reactors remains about the same. Professor Bourne, chair of the Independent Scientific Group, said that in order for a badger cull to have any impact, you would have to kill 90 per cent of badgers in the defined area. A gentleman quoted this week in the Daily Post said that this is not about the wholesale killing of badgers and that that is propaganda. I have news for him: nothing short of a wholesale killing will have any effect, and that was proved by the 10-year Krebs trial.

The Minister proposes to cull badgers over an area of around—I would guess—300 sq km, because using a smaller area would prove ineffective due to the perturbation effect of badgers moving away, which she mentioned. Professor Bourne also said that the gain would be modest in terms of bovine TB and that culling would have to be done simultaneously with experienced marksmen, otherwise the badgers will just move around. Where will the Minister find enough suitably qualified people to deal with the eradication of badgers in this pilot controlled area? How much will it cost to lay traps continuously across such a huge area, for, I would guess, at least five years? If traps are used, how often will they be checked—daily, weekly or monthly? What about other animals? We talk about badgers, but foxes, rabbits and dogs can get caught in the traps too.

In The Sunday Times, a farmer in Carmarthenshire, probably one of the areas targeted, offered advice to the Minister and her culling team. He said that the badgers should not be trapped because they get distressed and their fellow badgers will run off in fear. He suggested snaring and shooting. I am sure that the badgers feel better for that suggestion. How long will they be left in agony, caught in a snare? Will these trappers be on patrol every day, 365 days a year?
In the Republic of Ireland, 6,000 snares a night were laid in a killing frenzy that virtually exterminated the badger population in the four trial areas. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says that, despite its large geographical coverage, badger setts in Thornbury had to be re-gassed on 515 occasions during the seven years of that trial. Therefore, whether it is gassing, trapping or snaring, it has to be done continually to prevent the badgers from moving outside the boundaries.

Therefore, killing all these badgers will not be easy, and many of them will be healthy. In the Government’s badger found dead survey, which Brynle Williams mentioned, of the 457 badgers that could be tested, only 61 were found to be infected. Of the 11,000 badgers killed in the Krebs trial, only 1,500 tested positive; all the rest were healthy.

We are already seeing the backlash, as expected, from the public throughout Wales, the UK and the world. I hate blogs, but they are full of objections to a cull. Many are talking about boycotting Wales and or its produce. This story has made the UK’s newspapers, if not the world’s, for the past week, and I feel that it is for the wrong reasons.

I have a few questions. Why was a cull not discussed by or mentioned to the animal health and welfare strategy steering group, Minister? You have mentioned the TB eradication board. Can you assure me that representatives from welfare groups will be on that board and on the technical advisory board?
In closing, the Minister’s proposals for a badger cull—but not the rest of her proposals—are ill thought out, will do more harm than good, will cost us far more than we can afford and will cause that huge backlash from the mass population. I think that the Minister has got it wrong and it is no surprise that I will not vote for the Government’s motion today.”