If random culling of 70% of the badgers in TB hot-spot areas will reduce TB in cattle as has been claimed, may I suggest via your pages that 70% of the cattle in Dorset be randomly culled to reduce TB in badgers? The culling would need to be repeated annually for at least four years, unless of course there were no cattle remaining, in which case the strategy could be declared a success.
Policing costs would be zero and since the Government decided not to test slaughtered badgers for TB infection during last year’s pilot culls, we could likewise dispense with testing of culled cattle, thus saving the nation huge amounts of money.
An absurd idea? Of course it is! But no more so than ignoring scientific opinion by killing thousands of badgers, regardless of being sick or healthy.
Andy Hamilton
High Street
West Coker
Yeovil
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