Badgers and TB
Sir: Patrick Marnham made a number of good points about farming in his 'Country life' piece in your issue of 3 June. However, he was on less sure — and perhaps more emotional — ground when he moved on to discuss badgers and bovine TB.
Leaving aside the question of whether the TB stems from and is spread by badgers or by cattle, I feel he overlooks the indisputable fact that a large number of West Country badgers do now suffer from TB. If he accepts that he should surely have to face consideration of what is to be done about it. One could no nothing at all, in which case it is absolutely certain that more and more badgers will become infected (not to mention cattle, despite his suggestion that there is no proof that cattle can be infected by badgers). Conditions in the badgers' underground sets are ideal for encouraging the spread of the disease.
Unfortunately, it is simply not possible to locate and remove only the infected badgers, leaving the healthy ones. And this, even if it were possible, would not solve the problem because the infection would still remain in the sets, to infect the other animals. The only way to eradicate the disease from the badger population is to kill badgers — healthy ones along with infected ones. Cattle are certainly involved too, though we can assume that MAFF and the farming community will be trying to eradicate TB from cattle at the same time.
The question is not a simple one, and its solution may seem callous and cruel, but it is not only the Ministry experts who believe it is the best available. A broad spectrum of leading naturalists and conservationists, including experts on the badger, have also reached the conclusion that the Ministry's gassing policy is the best way to contain and, it is hoped, eradicate this outbreak of bovine TB before it spreads to other areas. Nigel Sitwell Editor, Wildlife, 243 King's Road, London SW3
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