AS A Dorset ex-pat I am proud of my county of origin. It is with dismay that I read the NFU is planning to apply for a licence to cull badgers in Dorset. The evidence is clear that badger culling is ineffective, expensive and does not contribute to preventing the spread of bTB.

However, some among the farming community hate old Brock with a vengeance.

I am proud of the fact that Dorset boasts a Badger Vaccination programme, staffed by volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure the welfare of both cattle and badger. Conversely, if a badger cull licence is issued there will be a huge cost to the county in terms of extra policing.

The trials elsewhere saw an influx of people willing to stop often inexperienced amateur shooters or trappers.

There is also a hidden cost to the economy as people down tools to devote time to halting the slaughter.

If not on grounds of humanity or science, then on economic grounds, a cull is an unwise move. Vaccination is the way forward.

If a decision is taken to allow a “cull” then the return of this native will not be to visit family and enjoy the beauty of Hardy’s Wessex but to disrupt the slaughter of our beautiful wildlife.

N Brown Southampton