Farming minister: Why badger culling is necessary

摘要

Culling badgers will help to "virtually eliminate'' bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in hotspot areas of England in the next decade - thaf s the claim of farrning minister Jim Paice in an exclusive interview with BBC Wildlife. Last year, Defra announced thatit was setting up two trials in Somerset and Gloucestershire, a move broadly welcomed by farmers. If these are successful, then, over a four-year period, it hopes to roll out badger culling across 40 areas of the countryside covering up to 39,000km2. Figures produced by the Government" s wildlife advisers Natural England suggest that 130,000 badgers could be killed during the campaign. "In those areas where culling takes place, I don't think it's unrealistic to say that we would like to virtually eliminate bTB over a 10-year period," Paice said. But there are several obstacles to the strategy.