Badger cull to start in Wales

As you may have seen on the news, the Welsh Assembly’s Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones, has announced that badger a cull will start in Wales alongside additional cattle measures within an Intensive Action Pilot Area (IAPA). The priority area for the establishment of an IAPA should be within the bovine TB endemic area of Dyfed, and that it should be located to maximise the opportunities and benefits of the locality.

The Minister has agreed that the North Pembrokeshire would be a preferred location. She said: "I want to see a Welsh livestock and Welsh wildlife co-existing in a disease free environment." The NFU has supported the creation of a TB eradication group in England and await the outcome of their discussions. However the NFU believes that it will be impossible to have an effective eradication plan without addressing the serious problem of TB in wildlife and we support the stance taken in Wales to deal with the reservoir of disease in the badger population I.e. that a cull of badgers needs to be a key element of a successful eradication plan.