Limited Badger Cull

Article to Eastern Daily Press (as yet unpublished).

Today's (27th Feb. 2008) announcement by Efra (what happened to the
D? Attempted change of image, but with the same people?) that a limited
cull of badgers would be allowed, demonstrates clearly that badgers
have no votes. As most people would not want to eat badgers, then I
suppose cows win, especially as farmers have opposable thumbs and
can put an X on the ballot paper. What our government have failed to put
across to the unwashed masses is whether badgers pass on TB to
cows, or vice versa.

Cotswolds farmer Dick Roper, of Eastington Farm, deduced that maize, a
common cattle food, was low in vital immune system boosting selenium,
and might be the reason his cattle were suffering with TB. He placed
pots of mineral-rich licks outside badger setts on his land, and also
changed over to organic farming, feeding his cows clover. While his
neighbours still have TB, he has been TB free for 5 years. Surely no
coincidence! Why will the government not tell us why they stopped
publishing vitamin & mineral analyses of our food in 1990? As cattle on
the IOM have TB, in the absence of badgers, why should we throw the
baby out with the bath water?