Before 1960 we had no Badgers and we had Lapwings, Ducks, Skylarks and any other ground nesting birds. The farming has not altered at all in that time only the Badgers have come in and take all of the eggs.

They not only take eggs but also dig out all of the Bumble Bee nests, hence the dramatic fall in Bees.

The only good thing they did was reduce the wasps nests, however now we have the European wasps that nest above ground they cannot even do that!

I am afraid that in the end a cull is the only way forward for the benefit of all.

well said you two

we have never seen a hedgehog either since the badger population exploded (if only it would!)

Our Badgers are fresh out of Hedgehogs too, Happily the animal rights people want to import them from the RSPB's Hedgehog cull in Uist

inoculation of badgers - i don't think it will ever happen

it is a statement to give false hope in a (currently) hopeless situation

i can not see vaccinated bate being left out in the countryside in the hope badgers might take the required dose, and the risk of cattle eating it will be to high

to trap and vaccinate will make the tb situation worse as in the 10 year purtubation trial

I think we need a sensible dictator (well- we have a nutty one already). This is a small and highly managed island - there isn't much that is truly "wild" about it. It is an ecological fact that most life forms exist on a pyramidal basis - lots of microbes/plants etc at the bottom and a few end predators at the top. Man, badgers and birds of prey are currently examples of the end of chain predators - the latter two now being protected from the former as a "predator".

If the top of the chain multiplies for some reason out of control, then the balance of the pyramid is distorted and the predator runs out of its natural food to the detriment of all.

You wouldn't put 100 sheep willingly on one acre of grass, why is it thought acceptable to allow badgers to multiply at the expense of other wildlife. Someone needs to come up with a suitable figure of what is "sustainable" (dreadful word!) in terms of the badger population, irrespective of TB, and then manage the problem. When we didn't have such a high density of badgers, we didn't have TB running out of control. There are many other complex factors of course, but reducing the density does help "dilute" the problem - and helps the regeneration of other wildlife.

If you broaden the argument a stage further - if you don't discourage that other end of chain mammal i.e.Man, from multiplying in this country - there won't be any land left for cows or badgers - so you will have solved the Bovine TB problem at a stroke. But boy will you have created a few more difficulties!!