LONDON: Britain has delayed a plan to shoot thousands of badgers to stop the spread of tuberculosis in cattle in the face of overwhelming public opposition to the cull.
Critics of the cull, which was supported by farmers, said it would be ineffective, not least because fleeing badgers would simply spread the disease beyond the pilot areas in southwest England where it had been due to begin shortly.
The debate is a sensitive one in Britain, where the mass slaughter of cattle to control disease in livestock has left deep scars in farming communities following outbreaks of other diseases over the past two decades.
Last year, 26,000 affected cattle were slaughtered and the disease cost taxpayers £90m, including compensation to farmers.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said yesterday the delay had been due to surveys showing a higher number of badgers than thought in the afflicted areas. The opposition Labour party branded it a further example of government ineptitude after several blunders this month.
“The farmers delivering this (culling) have concluded that they cannot be confident that it will be possible to remove enough badgers based on these higher numbers,” Paterson told parliament.
“It would be wrong to go ahead if those on the ground cannot be confident of removing at least 70 percent of the badger
populations.” REUTERS
