Question marks over Countryfile on cattle TB

The presenter of the BBC television programme Countryfile, Adam Henson, a farmer, used his own herd for an item about bovine tuberculosis (bTB) on Sunday February 27. He showed himself unaware of recent reductions in the levels of infection and repeatedly implied, wrongly, that the disease was intractable.

This shallow and amateurish item was unworthy of a national broadcaster. It failed to offer either adequate information or education, or to observe due impartiality about a distressing and costly epidemic. The behaviour shown was a lesson in how to risk bTB infection.

The Badger Trust has written to the BBC to pose serious questions and to demand answers:

• Why did Mr Henson and a veterinary surgeon bring a strongly salivating cow, previously declared an inconclusive reactor, out of isolation to be tested with other cattle clearly visible nearby?
• Why was the vehicle not seen to be disinfected?
• Why did Mr Henson not mention that the incidence of bovine tuberculosis seems now to have been declining in both England and Wales over the last two years? [1] This achievement has followed the introduction of more stringent cattle testing and movement controls, themselves a vital part of the solution. No badgers have so far been killed in achieving these reductions.
• Why, when the programme was examining the potential of cattle vaccines, did it fail to put into perspective the true significance of cattle-to-cattle disease spread?  Why did the programme fail to report the findings of a ten-year near-£50 million research programme that “badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain”, and  “geographical spread [can be] contained by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone [2].
• Why were only cattle deaths due to bTB listed  – and costed – whereas at least ten times as many are slaughtered because of mastitis, lameness and the shooting of bull calves at birth?

David Williams,
Chairman
Badger Trust

[1]  Defra County Animal Statistics (GB total) for England have now shown a steady decline of 15% percent over two consecutive years from the high point of 38,973 cattle slaughtered to an (estimated) 33,000 in 2010 – without killing badgers or any other wildlife. This would be even faster than the decline in the 1960s. In Wales, 36 percent fewer cattle have been slaughtered in Dyfed (where badger killing is proposed) over the two years at a saving for the taxpayer of about £6.5 million in compensation, again without killing badgers.

[2] The full statement is: “. . . While badgers are clearly a source of cattle TB, careful evaluation of our own and others’ data indicates that badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain. Indeed, some policies under consideration are likely to make matters worse rather than better. Second, weaknesses in cattle testing regimes mean that cattle themselves contribute significantly to the persistence and spread of disease in all areas where TB occurs, and in some parts of Britain are likely to be the main source of infection. Scientific findings indicate that the rising incidence of disease can be reversed, and geographical spread contained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone”. Defra, Bourne, J. et al (2007), Bovine TB: The Scientific Evidence – A Science Base for a Sustainable Policy to Control TB in Cattle; An Epidemiological Investigation into Bovine Tuberculosis, Final Report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB – see ISG chairman’s covering letter.

Badger Trust is the only charity solely dedicated to the conservation of badgers throughout the UK.

PO Box 708, EAST GRINSTEAD, RH19 2WN

Tel: 08458 287878  Fax: 02380 233896

E-mail press@badgertrust.org.uk

www.badgertrust.org.uk

Registered charity no.1111440

Company registered in the UK No.5460677

Arbroath man one of first to be fined under snares legislation

An Angus country sports enthusiast was fined £200 on Thursday, becoming one of the first people to be prosecuted under laws relating to the use of snares.

AB Snares - Illegal and Legal This fox snare is manufacturered by AB Country Products. It was found to be self-locking in its original design, but has recently been modified to make it free-running. However, thousands of the old snares are still in use, so one to examine carefully to see if they lock.

George Whitehead admitted two charges relating to a section of the Wildlife and Countryside Act to control the use of snares after two badly-set devices were discovered in a local woodland.

Fiscal depute Nicola Gillespie told Forfar Sheriff Court that Whitehead was part of a syndicate that reared young pheasants in pens at Montreathmont Forest, near Brechin.

She said that at the end of August last year someone involved with Advocates for Animals — now known as OneKind — had come upon a number of snares he thought might be illegal. A wildlife officer became involved and the court heard that two snares were found which, although not illegal, had not been properly set.

Whitehead (49), of Glenisla Drive, Arbroath, admitted two charges of setting snares between August 31 and September 1 last year so as to be calculated to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal coming into contact with them.

Defence agent Lynsey McLeod said her client was part of the syndicate that rented the ground but was purely a volunteer and was not a trained gamekeeper. “He understands ignorance is no excuse and in September 2010 underwent a snares course and now fully understands the legislation.”

Sheriff Kevin Veal fined the accused a total of £200, saying the offence was “certainly at the lower end of the scale.”

Policy director at OneKind Libby Anderson said their organisation remained unconvinced the new legislation was effective.

“In this case a OneKind field research officer found a number of snares believed to be illegal and reported them to the police. However, this is only one of a number of incidents from around the country that show the legislation brought in last March is not working.

“Since it came in the police have reported at least 10 cases of apparently illegal use and the Scottish SPCA has dealt with 14 incidents of possibly illegal snaring. It is impossible to say how much more bad practice is continuing in remote countryside locations and in our view the new wildlife bill will not change the position, unless it is significantly amended next week.”

A stage parliamentary three debate on the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill is scheduled to take place on March 2.

For a lot more info on snares visit the National Anti Snaring Campaign website.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Angus/article/11234/arbroath-man-one-of-first-to-be-fined-under-snares-legislation.html

Hare coursers plead guilty

Published: 20/02/2011

Three men were caught hare coursing at Six Mile Bottom on August 20. Joseph Smith, 51, of Paddock Wood, Kent, William Smith, 42, of Willingham Avenue, Hastings, and Buddy Jarrett, 19, of Atterbury Close, Westerham, Kent, had travelled up to Cambridgeshire from East Sussex.

They were convicted at Ely Magistrates’ Court on January 6 and the car was ordered destroyed.

Smith and Kent were both fined £300, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Both were also given a six-month driving ban. Jarrett was fined £100, ordered to pay £100 costs and £15 victim surcharge. He was given a three-month driving ban.

All had pleaded guilty to illegal hare coursing.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Video-News/Illegal-hare-coursers-find-its-a-crushing-experience.htm

Badger baiting thug appeals against term

Sicko Wayne Lumsden of Lynemouth, Northumberland

BADGER baiting sicko Wayne Lumsden is plotting an early release from prison.

The yob, jailed for animal cruelty, is fighting against his sentence.

Lumsden, 23, of Lynemouth, Northumberland, is to challenge a 26-week jail term given to him by magistrates for offences relating to badgers, foxes, dogs, cats and cocks.

Lumsden, of Park Road, has already submitted a notice of appeal to South East Northumberland Magistrates’ Court, through solicitor Graham Crouth.

His challenge will be heard by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court, although staff there have yet to receive the paperwork for the case from magistrates, or set a date.

Lumsden was given the maximum jail term magistrates can impose having pleaded guilty to willfully killing a badger, and two counts of causing animals to fight.

He was also banned from keeping animals for 15 years.

Lumsden had appeared alongside Connor Patterson, 23, of Whitfield, who pleaded guilty to two counts of causing animals to fight.

The farm worker and former apprentice gamekeeper was sent to jail for 20 weeks and banned from keeping animals for eight years, for two counts of causing animals to fight.
The case against the pair had been brought by Northumbria Police and the RSPCA, whose prosecutor Denise Jackman claimed it covered a subject the wider public are “appalled” at.

The Bedlington court was shown a series of sick videos of dogs attacking a badger, cocks fighting, dogs attacking a cat, and dogs attacking foxes – resulting in the death of two foxes.

Lumsden’s dog was mentioned by name in the title of the clip “Brock and Scruff killing cat,” in which men could be heard saying “takes some killing” and “not much life in it now”.

Other footage showed a boot traced to Patterson standing on a fox’s neck while it was in a snare, with a stick being thrust into its mouth.

Another fox was shown in a cage with a dog being held by its ears. Magistrates also saw clips of the badger being restrained by a foot and a spade.

Lumsden also had photos of the cruelty, some of which appeared on his Bebo page, the court heard.

Patterson admitted he had a national diploma in countryside and game management, and had learned how to use snares and traps.

A vet who saw the videos said the pair appeared intent on causing the animals “the maximum amount of suffering” and they “appeared to take great delight in seeing the animals ripped to pieces”.

Sentencing the pair, chairman of the magistrates Jennifer Marley said: “This bench has an accumulated total of over 46 years of serving our community, never have we seen or witnessed such emphasis on the display of appalling cruelty to animals.”

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2011/02/23/badger-baiting-thug-appeals-against-term-72703-28218646/

TB breaches cost dairy farm £14,340

The Badger Trust is appalled that a farm in Cornwall, an area which has suffered from bovine tuberculosis for decades, not only moved cattle while under TB restrictions but also entered a major pedigree cattle show in Warwickshire.  Fifty-eight passports for dead cattle were found on the premises. Wills Bros Ltd, of Pawton Dairy, Wadebridge, was fined £7,200 and ordered to pay costs of £7,140.  It had pleaded guilty at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court to seven offences under tuberculosis and cattle identification legislation.

Patricia Hayden, Vice Chairman of the Badger Trust, said: “These offences were committed in the heart of a major bTB hotspot.  They risked the health of prime stock at a major cattle show and the wellbeing of pedigree herds and farm businesses all over the country.  The discovery of so many passports overdue for return to the British Cattle Movement Service also raises serious questions about the reliability of the system.  Transparency is crucial when bovine tuberculosis is causing serious economic harm to farm businesses.

“If other cattle at the show had been infected, unthinking advocates of culling badgers would have been quick to claim their case had been proved.  As it is, many farmers in Cornwall could yet be licensed to shoot badgers in the mistaken belief that it will help to eradicate the disease.

“We have been warning the industry for almost 30 years about the danger of moving untested cattle and we have welcomed the belated controls of the last five years.  As happened 50 years ago those controls now seem to be succeeding [1] without killing any badgers.”

After the case, John Pascoe, manager of the animal health team in Cornwall’s trading standards department said it had not been the first time his inspectors had found problems with cattle passports.  They should be returned within seven days of the death of an animal under the Cattle Identification Regulations 2007 [2].

The court heard the restrictions had been imposed after an inconclusive reactor had been found at the dairy during a pre-movement TB test.  This should have prevented any unlicensed movements on or off the premises for at least 60 days.

Investigators from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Cornwall Council Trading Standards found:

• Cattle had been moved between premises run by the dairy without TB pre-movement testing; passports had not been completed;
• 58 cattle passports were found on the premises for cattle which had died more than seven days previously;
• The British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) had not been informed;
• DNA tests of the suspect animal found no biological link between it and the animal registered as its mother;
• At the re-test 60 days later the animal was still not identified.

Mr. Pascoe commented: “It is vitally important for the farming industry to adhere to these controls which enable rapid tracing of animal movements.  Non compliances such as those found can have devastating effects for the whole of the farming industry if a disease situation developed”.

NOTES

[1] An extrapolation of Defra’s January to September 2010 provisional statistics shows a steady decline over two consecutive years in England from the high point of 38,973 cattle slaughtered in 2008 to an (estimated) 33,000 by the end of 2010 – without killing badgers or any other wildlife.  This would be even faster than the decline in the 1960s.

[2] See CIR 2007 Part III Schedule 4 para 2 Notification of Death (3).

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/529/schedule/4/made

What a waste of lives, money and time

£1.3m hedgehog cull to save islands' birds eggs 'fails'

£1.3m hedgehog cull to save islands’ birds eggs ‘fails’
20 February 2011
By Craig Brown and Nick Eardley

EIGHT years on, £1.3 million spent and more than 1500 hedgehogs killed or relocated. But a new report on the attempt to eradicate the animals from the Western Isles in order to protect wading birds says there is no evidence that the culling operation has had any effect.

The report to be presented this week to the board of Scottish Natural Heritage – which sanctioned the Uist Wader Project – admits that an analysis of the removal of the hedgehog population from North Uist and Benbecula had revealed that “there is currently no statistically valid evidence that the UWP has resulted in an upturn in wader populations.”

It also concedes that egg-eating hedgehogs may not be the only culprits in reducing the numbers of wading birds – such as redshank, dunlin and snipe – with the effects of changes to farming practices and increasing flocks of predatory herring gulls also possibly to blame.

However, scientists say they want the board to sanction a more targeted, four-year project to find out whether the hedgehog-eradication programme works at a further cost of close to £1m. If “no robust evidence” emerges by the end of 2015, they suggest ending the project. Numbers of hedgehogs, an alien species in the Outer Hebrides, exploded in the 1970s after a homeowner imported several of the animals to deal with garden pests.

But as they spread, studies suggested that the animals, which normally eat insects, were also dining on eggs laid on the fertile coastal Machair by the wading birds.

In 2003, SNH, the government’s nature agency, launched the UWP to comply with European directives on protecting bird populations.

An SNH spokesperson defended the project saying: “In the Uists we have some of the most important populations of ground nesting birds in Europe. It is our responsibility to do whatever we can to protect those birds.”

But Ross Minett, from Uist Hedgehog Rescue, said: “We welcome the fact that SNH are considering this monitoring programme.

“However, we have always considered that the hedgehogs are likely to be only one of several factors impacting on the wader populations, and simply tackling the hedgehog problem will not be a ‘magic bullet’.”

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/13m-hedgehog-cull-to-save.6721185.jp

Farm – let us shoot the birds

A Lancashire farmer says he is being targeted by animal rights protesters after calling for a ban on shooting flocks of scavenging starlings to be lifted.

The 70-year-old farmer, who does not want to be identified, says he and other local farmers have been contacted after they spoke out about the problems caused by large flocks of the birds swooping on crops and eating up to a tonne of feed a day.

The farmers say the birds, which are a protected species, have grown in numbers since a shooting ban was introduced in 2004.

Now the flocks, including large numbers from continental Europe immigrating to Britain for winter, are descending on local barns and raiding the animals’ feeds as well as creating a mess, sparking fears of E.coli and other illnesses being spread.

The dairy farmer, whose family have run a farm near Garstang for more than 70 years, said: “We can’t cope with this any more. There are millions of them.

“Campaigners say numbers of starlings have been falling, but in the last year or two they are the biggest ever.

“We need a change in the ban allowing us to shoot them to protect our businesses.”

Farmers can obtain special licences from Natural England to shoot the birds, but the process is difficult and farmers must show they have taken every non-lethal step to rid the birds first.

Both the RSPB and local bird clubs are opposed to any culling of the birds.

RSPB spokesman Grahame Madge said: “We do hear the plight of farmers and know that this problem is affecting their businesses.”

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/farm_let_us_shoot_the_birds_1_3093705

Conservation chief questioned by police after dead sea eagle found on his estate

The Scottish chairman of the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has been questioned by wildlife crime officers following the discovery of a dead sea eagle on his estate.

The rare bird, which was found on land belonging to grouse moor owner Alasdair Laing, was discovered by an off-duty member of RSPB Scotland while walking in the snow before Christmas. However, the body had disappeared when officers from Northern Constabulary returned to the location the next morning.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident – but say they are unable to determine how the bird died without a body. Gamekeepers at the Morayshire estate, as well as Mr Laing, are understood to have been spoken to by investigators.

Sea eagles are currently being reintroduced to Scotland by the RSPB but are seen as a nuisance by grouse owners as they can distract grouse during a hunt – and can also prey on the smaller birds. Last year, police revealed that another of the birds, which was found dead on the Glenogil Estate in Perthshire, had been poisoned.

“We are disappointed that we haven’t managed to recover this bird,” said Bob Elliot, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland.

“White tailed sea eagles are being reintroduced back into Scotland and it is very sad that this bird has died. It is a real mystery and we would appeal to anyone with any knowledge about this incident to get in touch as soon as possible.”

The dead bird was thought to be wearing a radio tag, but it is understood that the tag was no longer working by the time the bird was found.

The landowner, who three years ago launched an osprey tracking programme as part of an initiative with the Scottish Estates Business Group to encourage bird of prey populations on rural land, told The Scotsman that he had not been aware of the discovery of the bird until after officers had visited the site to find it had disappeared.

“There has been a lot of speculation as to what happened, but without anything concrete, I can’t comment,” he said.

“I have never personally seen a sea eagle on my estate, although I have seen them regularly in the west of Scotland.”

Sea eagles, which have an eight foot wing span, are known to prey on smaller creatures, including grouse.

Mr Laing added: “Sea eagles are predators, like any other bird of prey, but as grouse estate managers, you learn to deal with that.” He said the estate was regularly used by walkers and was occasionally visited by quad bikers, despite attempts to curb motorised access to the land.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Conservation-chief-questioned-by-police.6720123.jp

Help Stop the Corvid Cull – Please support these two demonstrations

This Saturday 19th February

In London at Game and Wildlife Conservation Trusts office which is located at 26 Mortimer St, London. Please meet outside the office at 12 noon on Saturday 19th February. The contact on the day for this demo is Paul 07999 812994.

The second demonstration is in Leicestershire again on Saturday 19th February from 12 noon until 2pm. Please meet outside the offices of Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust which is at Loddington House, Main Street, Loddington, Leicestershire, LE7 9XE.

Background to the cull

The Songbird Survival Trust – several of whose most prominent figures own shoots or have strong shooting connections – has called for a cull on corvids (magpies, crows, jackdaws etc). This is despite there being evidence that these birds do not cause the deaths of songbirds as the Trust claims. It is reasonable to conclude that the group’s close connection to the shooting industry lies behind its cull plans given that shooters blame corvids for eating pheasant chicks and the feed intended for ‘game’ birds.

The group’s dubious motives were exposed in The Sunday Times on February 6th. Nick Forde, the Trust’s principle spokesman could not identify any of the three most endangered songbirds, despite claiming to be passionate about them. He had no trouble, however, identifying a pheasant.

The corvid cull is backed by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), which also boasts a number of leading figures who shoot or profit from shooting.

How you can also help

• Sign this petition
• Write to Defra to oppose the cull: Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR
• Contact the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust on 020 7290 0110
 or email to politely voice your objection.

Badger cull decision faces delay

The UK government’s decision on whether to allow badger culling to curb cattle TB in England is to be delayed.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had planned to announce its completed policy around the end of this month.

But BBC News understands it could come as late as May – raising doubts over whether a cull could begin this year.

One source said Defra did not want to “mess up” again after abandoning its plans to sell some public forests.

Defra came under heavy fire over the plans for England and announced on Thursday that it was scrapping them.

The latest government figures suggest that numbers of cows infected with tuberculosis are falling in England and Wales, which campaigners say makes the case for culling more difficult.

Agriculture Minister James Paice told the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference this week that there would be a delay.

Sources suggest a number of factors make an announcement before May unlikely.

There are practical issues to be sorted out over how farmers would be licensed to conduct the cull – details that may be crucial to the chances of culling reducing bovine TB, and to the government’s chances of surviving any legal challenge to its plans.

But one source close to the issue said the department’s experience with its plans for the forests were also behind the delay.

“They’ve messed up on forests – they don’t want another one,” the source said.

On Thursday, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman was forced to apologise to MPs over plans to transfer 258,000 hectares of state-owned woodland in England into private management, acknowledging the government had “got this one wrong”.

What’s happened does demonstrate that the disease can be controlled without the necessity of killing wildlife” Jack Reedy Badger Trust

The government launched a consultation on bovine TB management in September, Mr Paice telling reporters: “Bovine TB is having a devastating effect on many farm businesses and families… we can’t go on like this.”

Before and after the election, he assured farmers that his government would introduce badger culling.

The NFU is keen to see it begin.

But Kevin Pearce, the union’s director of regions, told BBC News it was important that the government took time to get the details right.

“Clearly we want a decision as soon as possible, but this has to be done properly,”

“Defra has to consider all of the responses and all of the facts before making any announcement in response to its consultation.”

A “closed season” for shooting would aim to protect badger cubs

The government’s interpretation of the scientific background is that to be effective, culling would have to be done over large areas with as many landowners as possible taking part in a co-ordinated way, and must sustained regularly for five years.

Critics suggest this will not be possible, and that some farmers are likely to drop out if they find they are spending money to hire marksmen without seeing a benefit.

The science suggests that fragmenting the cull in this way would lead to a rise in TB incidence, as badgers scatter from their habitual runs and infect new herds.

The NFU wants groups of landowners to form into collective legal entities and apply for collective licences.

This idea is under discussion, as is what measures the government could use to force farmers to finish the job if they tried to withdraw.

A further issue that Defra wants resolved is security, with the NFU’s submission to the consultation acknowledging: “There is concern within the industry that by participating in a cull, farmers and landowners will be targeted by activists wishing to disrupt a cull by damaging property and/or by harassment of farming families”.

Falling numbers

Delaying the announcement until May could put the chances of beginning to cull this year in jeopardy.

The NFU says it could be done.

But opponents such as the Badger Trust are likely to seek a judicial review, which could mean substantial delays.

And if data continues to indicate a reduction in the numbers of cows contracting TB, that would boost the trust’s case that culling is not scientifically merited.

Provisional figures for the first 10 months of 2010 show that for the UK overall, a smaller number of cattle confirmed as TB carriers were slaughtered than during the same period a year earlier – 25,924 compared with 29,243.

England and Wales separately show a similar trend; and this follows a fall between 2008 and 2009.

“If culling had been introduced two years ago, everyone would now be leaping to the conclusion that the reduction was down to culling and saying ‘we told you so’,” said Badger Trust spokesman Jack Reedy.

“Plainly, what’s happened does demonstrate that the disease can be controlled without the necessity of killing wildlife.”

The English delay may also have implications for the Welsh Assembly Government, which – in a separate move under a different law – also wants to introduce culling this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12500468