Last Updated: Thursday, 15 December 2005, 11:07 GMT
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Badger culls among anti-TB plans
Badger. Image: RSPCA
Farmers warn of 'desperate measures' if badgers are not culled
Consultation on badger culls is among plans announced by ministers to step up the fight against tuberculosis in cattle
in England.
The consultation exercise will cover whether to cull badgers in areas hit
badly by bovine TB, and how to do it.
Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw said the disease had reached "crisis levels" with 22,705 cattle compulsorily
slaughtered last year.
He said badgers were "the main wildlife reservoir" for bovine TB in Britain.
Farmers' groups have demanded culls of badgers, which have been opposed by
wildlife groups.
[permaculture] BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Badger culls among anti-TB plans || Invasive species; cows or badgers?,
Lawrence F. London, Jr., 12/15/2005