Don’t blame the badgers

As a lifelong cinema enthusiast with an insatiable appetite for documentaries that delve into the heart of complex issues, I wholeheartedly endorse adding “Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers, and Me” to your watchlist. This film is not just a must-watch, but a call to action for anyone who values truth, justice, and the welfare of our furry friends – badgers.

Add Brian May: the Badgers, the Farmers and Me to your watchlist

My four-year long documentary on badger culling exposes a scandal that may leave viewers outraged, similar to the Post Office scandal’s revelation. It showcases the British authorities’ catastrophic inability to address the dire issue of bovine TB, resulting in unnecessary killings of both cattle and badgers. The insights we’ve gathered over years of research are groundbreaking and startling – some might even call them radical or unconventional. I believe these findings will eventually transform farming practices entirely.

In the last 12 years, a quarter of a million badgers have been slaughtered, based on the belief that they spread TB among cattle. The testimony of farmers in my film is that this policy has utterly failed them. Rates of infection and consequent numbers of cows slaughtered are no better and, in some areas, worse than ever.

At Gatcombe Farm in Devon, instead of arguing with farmers about the matter, Anne Brummer (CEO of animal welfare charity Save Me Trust) and I have taken on farming roles ourselves. We’ve successfully transformed Robert Reid’s dairy farm, which had chronically infected cattle, into a healthy herd with TB-Free certification, all without harming a single badger. The success of our own study clearly demonstrates that blaming the badgers for tuberculosis was a gross misunderstanding of the facts. How could such a mistake have occurred?

There’s only been one properly conducted scientific experiment to determine whether killing badgers would eradicate bovine TB in cattle. The very clear conclusion of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, in 2007, was that “culling badgers can make no meaningful contribution to the control of bovine TB in cattle”.

Despite this, successive governments, along with the National Farmers Union, have persisted in believing they possess superior knowledge. They implemented policies based on studies by a select group of scientists who suggested improved livestock welfare due to the culling program or argued that their theoretical models supported such an idea.

Our claims will be attacked and attempts made to discredit us

At Gatcombe, we’re convinced that the theory suggesting badgers contribute significantly to the re-infection process is not backed by sufficient proof. Instead, it appears this notion has served as a major distraction, hindering the development of effective strategies for controlling the spread of the pathogen within livestock herds.

Apart from this, we’ve developed a plan to eliminate this bovine disease in a relatively short span of time. Our “Gatcombe Protocol” encompasses rigorous testing methods to identify infected livestock earlier and meticulous cleanliness practices to prevent the spread of the disease through cow manure within the herd. This strategy brings renewed optimism to farming communities where hope had dwindled significantly.

Is this account genuine or misleading? For the first time, this documentary provides an opposing perspective that’s being shared with the general audience. It’s expected that our statements may come under scrutiny, and efforts might be made to undermine our perspectives. However, it’s ultimately up to the public to decide, and in due course, history will render its verdict.

Couldn’t we have been so overconfident to claim that an entire body of scientific research is incorrect? This is because, a hundred years ago, a comparable amount of analysis was put forward by a scholarly group of scientists about the canals on Mars, but it wasn’t until later that it was demonstrated they were non-existent.

1.) In the 19th century, Queen Victoria’s personal doctor challenged and debunked the widespread notion among scholars that cholera spread through the air, instead proving its waterborne transmission. On the other hand, a full century earlier, people continued to execute witches under the conviction that they were the cause of our misfortunes.

In our view, the ongoing badger cull, long considered ethically untenable, represents one of the largest and most expensive scientific blunders throughout history. Clinging to a policy that, over time, may come to be regarded as ineffective as burning alleged witches once was.

2024-08-20 19:34

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