I have been following with interest recent reports around the planned culling of badgers in Dorset.

I am glad there is a locally act-ive group taking a stand against the proposed cull on moral and scientific grounds whilst at the same time campaigning for improved welfare for cattle.

A badger cull is a highly emo-tive proposal and needs therefore to be led by scientific evidence.

Once again the farming community is being let down and misled by the government and the information it has been putting out about bovine TB.

Dorset County Council recently replicated this as you reported by hijacking a motion put forward by Coun Dan Brember objecting to the cull taking place on council owned land (as has happened in Gloucestershire and Derbyshire).

Coun Brember’s motion was hijacked and amended in the meeting, which seemed highly irregular to me.

Conservatives against the cull then voted for this amendment along party lines. They suggest it is a matter to be dealt with at a national level whilst it is happening on our doorsteps!

You then report on the farming minister, stating that ‘the way forward should be led by the best available science’ when the government seem to be cherry picking bits of information to support a cull and ‘using the most humane method available’.

I’m aghast! I cannot see how he thinks free shooting badgers at night and leaving them to go off and die an agonising death somewhere remotely approaches the environs of humane.

In Wales a vaccination pro-gramme is being undertaken using the same scientific evid-ence. This seems much more humane for cattle and badgers. This is scandalous.

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