UK government opts to delay badger cull until next year

摘要

The UK government has announced that two badger cull trials designed to combat the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) have been put back until 2013 at the request of farmers. Environment secretary Owen Paterson revealed that he had agreed to the English National Farmers' Union (NFU) request to postpone the trials in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire until next year after surveys revealed higher than expected badger numbers in the two pilot areas. The NFU said that it could not be confident thatthe required 70% of badgers could be culled this autumn.