Badger cull: Sound Bites

Political opinions on the day DEFRA finally announced a badger cull in England…

DEFRA secretary Caroline Spelman said: “We need to tackle TB from all angles, using all available tools. I am acutely aware that many people are opposed to the culling of badgers and I wish that there was a current satisfactory alternative.
“But we can’t escape the fact that the evidence supports the case for the controlled reduction of the badger population in the areas affected by bovine TB.”

Sarah Newton, Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: “I think the compassionate people in my constituency will very much welcome the great thought, care and attention that the Secretary of State and her team have made and the bravery in tackling this issue.

“I particularly welcome the investment that the government is going to make into voluntary trials for vaccinations… ultimately, that’s what we all want to see.”

Mary Creagh, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, said Mrs Spelman was “sleepwalking to disaster”.

“Today’s announcement is bad news for wildlife, bad news for farmers and bad news for the taxpayer. The cull will not be cost-effective or humane and it will not work,” she said.

Marina Pacheco, from the Mammal Society, said: “The government has based its culling policy on flawed science, while proper research seems to have been disregarded in the lurch towards a policy fix.”

Mark Jones, of Humane Society International UK, criticised DEFRA for backing the culls despite “compelling scientific evidence that it will be ineffective, hugely damaging to local populations and cruel”.

For more on the badger cull and bovine TB to to our dedicated pages

Join the conversation about reaction to this announcement on our badger cull forum