Badgers now allowed to be shot...

just heard this on the kids news newsround (looking after my little brother)

apparently from today, its now legal for farmers to shoot badgers that are on their land....

what do you guys think?

it didnt go into much detail with it being on the kids channel, but Im wondering if they are only allowed to shoot them if they see the badger, or are farmers going to be going around bolting them out of their sets then shooting them?

Badgers have been a protected specie since i think 1972 and their numbers have increased dramatically due to them not having a natural predator.They carry TB which does not affect themselves,but pass it onto cattle which have to be destroyed.Farmers are up against the wall with prices already without having to cull stock for something which is out of their control.

Without seeing the article i would guess only those who have livestock will be allowed to cull them and they will have to notify DEFRA everytime one is shot.

I know a number of livestock farmers and they will welcome this law.

Same here Steve. I know plenty of farmers that will be delighted to hear this. Not least my friend who had to have her entire herd of Jerseys shot because of TB. Badgers only on her land in the last three years.

Didn't they recently do a study, when they chose an area to start a cull, which turned out to be pretty unproductive for the cow's benefit? I seem to remember I read about it somewhere No matter what the outcome of any trials though, they'll still go ahead and do it Just because they can What happens when we've culled them all and the cows still get TB then? Where will the blame lie, who's gonna be next?!

Its only a cull Helen-not exterminating to extinction! All they want to do is reduce their numbers so theres less chance of them contracting and passing on TB.

just found this on the bbc news

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16183926

it seems its just a trial in 2 areas...

i think, its a known fact that badgers can and do spread tb, so i suppose the farmers are doing what needs to be done. i cant say im against it really...

cows can still suffer from tb but badgers carry it and move from place to place spreading it

Oh well, that's alright then, I thought it was extermination!!! I just remember that they reported it made no significant improvement when they did those trials, that's why I'm a bit on the fence on this one. Wouldn't it be better if they found something that they KNEW would stop the spread of this disease rather than taking a "let's try this one next" attitude? If badgers carry it, then surely lots of other wildlife carry it too, and I worry for them all.

no they arent getting rid of the whole population, i imagine there is only a certain number that they can kill...
i think the problem with saying that surely they can stop the spread of disease, is that theres no way of knowing that every single badger in the whole country could be vaccinated... too hard to keep track of.

There is nothing else to prevent it Helen.The goverment have been exploring immunisation,but they dont work and if we consumers want to continue eating beef for a reasonable price then this is something which has to be done.It comes to supply and demand-if there are less cattle in the UK because they have to be destroyed because they've contracted TB then it pushes the price up for meat and milk.

No one wants them extinct-myself included.I enjoy watching badgers when out lamping,but their numbers have gotten to the point where they're causing major problems for livestock farmers.