“Culling? Quote it as it is, the killing of sentient beings. I fail to see how the culling of badgers will reduce the spread of TB. Call me ignorant but is there not a vaccination available to protect cattle, or even the badgers, against TB?”

“Tory East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer said "I believe it's the case that many farmers take matters into their own hands already. Frankly I sympathise with them."
It appears he is happy to sympathise with law breakers when they are supporting Tory policy. Perhaps he will support the Animal Liberation Front if they too express their freedom and take direct action.”

“Forget the badgers, it's the long hot, dry spell the farmers are moaning about now.

What do you call a happy farmer?

Retired ;)”

“@Roger, Derby. Yes animal rights activitists were at fault in releasing mink. However now we are talking about an indigenous flagship species which does not deserve to be culled.

Mycobacterium bovis IS transmitted through badgers. There is no doubt about this. The controversial factor in this equation is that a study by an independant scientific group comissioned by the government which said A CULL DOES NOT REDUCE THE LEVELS OF TB. This was a intensive cull undertaken over ten years which cost the tax payers around fifty million pounds.

It also goes on to say that culling can actually increase the transmission of TB. Badgers are highly territorial. However, if a group is culled within a certain area, this will increase movement in badgers from other populations. This then spreads TB further than if the original territories had been adhered to.

This study then goes on to say that the most efficient way of reducing TB, is to introduce better cattle management and inoculations.

This is the most extensive study on badgers and TB ever undertaken. This was not produced by 'namby pamby' animal lovers. These were scientists and not adverse to culling in the first place. What I fail to see is how this information has been ignored, by both the government and farmers alike.

Farmers, where is your evidence to show the contrary? What studies have you performed which show that a cull will work?

I fully sympathise that farmers are finding times difficult at the moment but, hey, join the queue of the other millions of people in the UK that are finding times hard.

Culling does not work!”

“Where's Micky Abutt gone? I'm missing his constructive comments.”

“Welcome to Spring Watch Derbyshire and lets go live to the badger set down on dingley dell farm (made up name) just outside Derby to see whats happening as the sun goes down. We have put out hand fulls of peanuts in recent days the badgers favourite food although sadly we have not seen any badgers on film since farmer Brown was seen heading towards the badger set with a shot gun !
The culling of badgers is a serious issue - as is biodiversity but in this case killing badgers in an attempt to deal with the TB issue is put before such biodiversity ! Some are saying killing local badgers simply brings others in from elsewhere potentially bringing in TB from elsewhere, others say badgers can be inoculated. I find it very rich that farmers may be proposing this when it is farmers feeding rendered down dead animals back to cattle that brought us the terror that is BSE / VCJD - something that makes bovine TB seem like a nasty cough !”

“so they are nuclear badgers now ae they peter? Nuclear Asian badgers with a taste for sniffing cigarette filters
Keep it coming your better than a night at a comedy gig”

“The farming columnist of the Western Morning News, (Devon and Cornwall) a newspaper of the same group as the Derrby Evening Telegraph, in a recent article was "relaxed" (so to say) about the idea that some of the badger roadkill were badgers illegally culled, and dumped, so as to look like a roadkill. He pointed out that these badgers were always in the road edge - never in the middle of the road.”

“i spent my early years on the farm my relatives still own over 3000 acres . i also wprked in ockbrook on a farm . wise guys show us proof badgers are the cause .you cant neither can the experts /.have you seen some ingredients have you seen some of the contaminated waste food .and dead carcasses oftrn go into animal feed .even pet food ../my relatives have never had tb .even when they had a much larger herd .can any 1 person put on a website proof badgers cause tb .we can all read it ..as for celanese explain the cancer rate in spondon 670 /has allestree dufield .got these rates no .now rols royce are building another nuclear reactor .do they ever learn..my mother worked on the tb ward in leicester years ago .it was vile swon to secrecy as well .humans cause the biggest ,medical problems on the plannet .not the animals .”

“"Etwall farmer Angela Sargent has experienced the devastation caused by an outbreak of TB, which she said could be linked to a badger sett on her farm".
I see the term "could be" is used here, so I would ask the question, is there any hard evidence that the Badger sett is responsible? Have the badgers been tested? or is this cull going to be based upon supposition and assumption of a "possible" contamination.

We are talking about a protected species here, an animal which plays a vital role in the eco-system. I have never heard of anything so irresponsible as killing hundreds of wild animals on the assumption that they "might" be responsible for spreading TB, without actually conducting reliable tests on the animals concerned.”