POWERFUL VOICE FOR BADGER CULL

13 October 2006
http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk

At last a clear voice at the top of the farming industry for a cull of
badgers with tuberculosis that the Government will find hard to ignore.
Sir Don Curry, chairman of the Sustainable Food and Farming Delivery
Group, will recommend the necessity of this drastic action as essential
to arrest the spread of bovine TB.Sir Don's message should carry great
weight, as he speaks with the authority of someone who understands the
agricultural industry from the bottom up. The Northumberland farmer led
the way with the Curry Report in the aftermath of the 2001 foot and
mouth outbreak which set out a joined-up approach for the revival of the
farming industry.

That the Government has only responded in a piecemeal fashion and with
more gesture than action is typical of New Labour's strategy on matters
concerning the countryside.

Sir Don is not one to be deterred, which is why even now he is
canvassing the views of farmers nationwide for a report to be passed on
to ministers.

We would hope that they would act with urgency to his conclusion that a
cull is essential; we would hope but, sadly, will not be too surprised
if their reaction is one of further evasiveness.

The entire response of ministers to date over this crisis has been
characterised by dither and delay. They have prevaricated while farmers'
incomes have suffered, their cattle have suffered, and the problems have
escalated.

The Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw's misguided response has been to
pin many of the hopes of arresting TB on a change in the testing regime.
But this has only served to mask the gravity of a problem which now
threatens a resurgence again. The imported tuberculin used on cattle has
been found to be inadequate for the task or, in Government parlance,
"not fit for purpose".

The tragedy is that an earlier cull of an estimated two per cent of the
UK's 900,000 badger population might have nipped this matter in the bud.
It is now beholden on ministers not to repeat the mistakes of the past
and to respond positively to Sir Don's observations.

The culling alone, of course, is no panacea to a problem that requires a
raft of measures to meet its complexity. But it is, as we have
consistently argued, the most effective weapon in the armoury.

No one relishes the prospect of a badger cull, but those who oppose it
need to recognise that there are animal welfare issues involved that
transcend their routine arguments. There is the welfare of wildlife
afflicted with this spreading disease; there is the welfare of the
cattle that suffer hideously when it is contracted; there is the welfare
too of a farming economy that is vital to the life of the countryside
and the nation as a whole.

It is now time, in the interests of all, to dispense with the
sentimentality that has surrounded so much of this debate, and to do
what we all should know to be the right thing: heed the words of Sir Don.

False economy

WHAT was the point of creating a flagship countryside agency with funds
of more than £400 million if it has its legs chopped from under it the
moment it starts to walk? That would seem a logical question for most
people in response to the news that Natural England has been told not to
spend more than £5,000 on conservation projects because of Defra savings
cuts.

But then to ask that question would be to apply a level of rationality
that is seemingly beyond the accountants and officials who administer
Defra and its quangos.

We hear no end of excuses for why £13 million must be cut from the
agency's budget, including the cost of protection against avian flu,
accountancy changes, and the fiasco over Single Farm Payments.

All of which begs another question: isn't this a case of one mess being
piled on to another?

Better not even to have created Natural England - and have saved a lot
of money in the process - than to hobble it at the outset by restricting
it to the cost of fixing gate-posts.

FARMING LEADER IN PLEA FOR BADGER CULL

PETER HALL FARMING EDITOR

13 October 2006
http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk

A cull of diseased badgers will be recommended to the Government by
farming leader Sir Don Curry in a bid to stop the spread of bovine
tuberculosis.It will be included in a report to the Government after his
fact-finding tour of the Westcountry.

"Bovine TB is a barrier to progress for so many livestock farmers in the
region," said Sir Don, chairman of the Sustainable Food and Farming
Delivery Group, during his visit yesterday.

"It is the one single issue that is holding back development on many
farms, so it is vital to find a solution."

Sir Don said that until the disease was checked in wildlife, the
campaign to stop its spread and eventually eradicate it would get nowhere.

"Until we recognise the source of infection in wildlife, we shan't make
the progress which is so vital," he said. "There are many of us who have
believed for a long time that we need a comprehensive campaign to beat
bovine TB."

With the drop in the number of positive TB tests earlier this year,
Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw ruled out a cull of diseased
badgers, which had previously been part of a three-point strategy,
implemented this spring, to tackle the disease.

Tabulated compensation payments for farmers whose cattle have had to be
destroyed because of TB was one point, and the pre-movement testing of
all cattle not going directly to slaughter was another.

Sir Don will be reporting back the feelings of the farming community in
the South West to the Government.

Farming organisations and vets have argued that the drop in suspected
cases of TB has been caused by a change in the way tests are carried out.

Meanwhile, the Badger Trust insists that latest evidence shows culling
infected badgers would only serve to spread the disease further, as it
would have the effect of dispersing sick animals over a wider area.

Apart from the issue of bovine TB, Sir Don said he felt upbeat about the
Westcountry's agricultural future, having met diverse organisations
during his visit.

He detected a greater sense of unity and purpose in the region,
particularly from members of Young Farmers' Clubs whom he met for a
breakfast seminar.

The visit to Bovey Tracey was part of a national tour by members of the
Sustainable Food and Farming Delivery Group, which is meeting
stakeholders in each of England's eight regions and visiting farms and
rural businesses to see examples of good practice and how rural
businesses can develop and evolve.

Farmer John Lee, chairman of the South West Sustainable Farming and Food
Strategy, said: "The various projects visited are typical of the
significant progress made in the region over the past 12 months in
reconnecting the food chain, delivering agri-environment schemes and
providing support through initiatives to businesses as they adapt to
changing circumstances."

During his visit, Sir Don formally launched the new £15,000 display and
information caravan, run jointly by Reconnecting Food and Farming and
FACE (Food and Countryside Education). The vehicle will travel around
schools, shows and events.