First badger cull licence issued in Gloucestershire

“Well said dodgethebulle(t). The only purpose it is serving currently is to highlight the difference between the humane and inhumane. Please do not be put off by the doubters. 71% of the forest of dean (the poll was of 2000 people, so a fair cross-section) are anti the cull! We just need to make sure the government and intransigent farmers realise this. Most of the dairy farmers in the West Dean are sensible enough to know that a cull is not the way, education is the way forward.
And to the cullers... No pasaran.”

“The cull of badgers can be likened to Japanese whaling, it serves no purpose it is just a tradition!

In 1991 the British government commissioned an independent scientific study to establish the best method of dealing with bTB, during this trial approximately 10,000 badgers were killed. The conclusion of this study was as follow "THE TRIALS PROVE A BADGER CULL IS NOT AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF CONTROLLING BOVINE TB". Despite this the government are pressing on with "ANOTHER TRIAL"

I am ashamed to be British !


https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257/signature/new”

“While I have said repeatedly, I've no idea what's the best course of action, especially as both sides are in complete disagreement, Brian May completely blew his arguement apart this morning on Breakfast TV, when he said 'what will the children think when all those cuddly badgers have been killed'!”

“Any party will be better off without your vote.

We care about children.

EMAIL SENT/RECEIVED April 2nd. 2006

County Times. Powys, Mid Wales.

Dear Mary,

This is winding up into something very nasty. We were told about the problem last autumn, but the newspapers / media had very little on it. Local vets and farmers knew and fed us bits. This (below) was published 30th. March, and our source has now had another conversation with SVS vets and private vets in the area.

In the late 1990's just a couple of farms were under bTb restriction, but that has now surged to become 30/40. Dead badgers have been found in the area, including one on school playing fields.

This carcass was taken to test for 'poison'. but HSE stepped in and stopped the postmortem - inadequate Group 3 pathogen facilities (?). . It was riddled.

SVS sent letters to Welsh Assembly / Page St. and they were lost stolen or strayed. The whole episode was buried. Page St. wanted absolutely no positive Tb badgers.

In the last 3/4 years eight or nine children, not including this little one, have had treatment for enlarged neck glands. This involved either a 6 month course of antibiotics, or operations to remove. Classic m.bovis lesions I'm told (by a vet) but referred euphemistically by doctors as "Atypical tuberculosis from a non human source". They are telling these kids, that they picked it up from the ground.

The badgers use the school playing fields as latrines, and a newish housing estate borders the same farmland too.

We're ignoring those canaries again. (reactor cows)

http://tinyurl.com/9r6ennv (open in a new window)”

“Most of them will be afraid of the dark. . You never know what's lurking out there. . Trespassers will be prosecuted.”

“Not feeling the need to cut and paste anything, I say put posters up outside NFU branches, picket them, DEFRA, and Thomson Ecology who made it possible. Gloscon who are arranging it in Gloucestershire.
Join the moonlight music walks...
If you see people lurking in fields/woodlands... make some noise... hi power torches sweeping the field should help ...
Nothing illegal mind people ;)”

“Ignorance is no excuse.

(part) Memorandum submitted by Former Veterinary Officers, State Veterinary Service.

Dr John Gallagher, a veterinary pathologist since 1972

THE NATURE OF TB IN BADGERS

1.Tuberculosis has a different manifestation in most species . In the badger it is fundamentally different from TB in cattle essentially due to the lack of development of a hypersensitivity response which is a prime feature of infection in cattle. Thus small numbers of organisms infecting cattle produce a vigorous cellular response which results in extensive cell death and the development of large cold abscesses in the affected tissues usually the lung and respiratory lymph nodes . This is in fact the host immune reaction to TB. Whilst causing disease and disruption to the affected organs the changes inside these abscesses strongly inhibit the TB bacteria and kill many of them.

The badger does not show such a vigorous destructive reaction but rather a slowly progressive proliferative reaction which eventually results in cell death as numbers of bacteria increase markedly. TB lesions are thus relatively much smaller but contain relatively vastly more bacteria than those of cattle. TB bacteria do not produce toxins but rather cause lesions as a result of their highly antigenic cell walls to which different hosts may respond with greater or lesser aggression.

PROGRESSION OF INFECTION

2. Once a badger develops disease all the members of that social group are likely to become infected due to the confined living space in their underground tunnel systems, their highly gregarious nature and constant mutual grooming. But that seed of infection (the primary focus ) will usually only progress to produce disease and eventually death in a minority of cases. Latency is a feature of TB in many species and this is so in badgers and cattle. The bulk of infections in badgers, usually 70% or more will become latent or dormant. A small number of badgers may resolve the infection completely and self cure. But the latent infections remain fully viable and may breakdown under stress which may be of nutritional origin, intercurrent disease, senile deterioration or social disturbance and disruption. Some badgers may develop fulminating disease (Gallagher et al 1998).

Badgers with terminal generalised tuberculosis can excrete vast numbers of bacteria particularly when the kidneys are infected. Counts of several million bacteria in a full urination have been recorded (Gallagher and Clifton-Hadley, 2000).

When infection is acquired by a bite wound from the contaminated mouth of another badger, the bacteria are Inoculated either deeply subcutaneously or intramuscularly and rapid generalisation of infection usually occurs, causing progression to severe and often fatal tuberculosis which may develop in a matter of several months (Gallagher and Nelson, 1979). Respiratory origin infections have a longer duration and cases in an endemically infected population (Woodchester) have been monitored showing intermittent excretion of infection for a year, with the longest recorded case excreting for almost three years before death.

The above ground mortality due to TB is estimated as about 2% of the population per annum. Thus in the South West alone with its now extensive endemically infected areas the annual deaths due to TB will be of the order of at least 1000 to 2000.

Tuberculosis has an unfettered progress in the badger population and the cycle of infection and disease in the badger has long been known to be self sustaining (Zuckerman 1980). Over time the badger has become well adapted as a
primary reservoir host of bovine TB infection.”

“Why badgers? Many animals potentially carry the disease but all the evidence shows they are only likely involved in a few rare cases. It's no coincidence that that vast majority of cases of bTB happen in farms either nearby or which are directly connected to other bTB infected farms.

Rather than actually try and deal with the problem, the government have found a scapegoat and said "good hunting". Morality issues aside, all the evidence from all over the world says that you are never going to control such an endemic disease in this way.”

“Time to start protest outside the NFU - DEFRA - the Directors of the company arranging the licenses Gloscon Ltd.
Not the time to give up...”

“Not soon enough.

Mycobacterium.bovis affects ALL mammals. . It's badgers that are now the major vector. . .

Ignorance is no excuse.

http://tinyurl.com/8a7bwy9

Child TB poses bigger threat.

http://tinyurl.com/9r6ennv”