Evidence ignored in badger cull row

The UK government's chief scientist stands accused of allowing political expediency to overrule good science after recommending the culling of badgers (BBC, Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph). There has been a long running debate on the British Isles over the merits of killing badgers to stop the spread of bovine TB, which they carry. Farmers' groups have argued that the animals should be culled to safeguard cattle.

Earlier this week an independent scientific advisory group came down on the side of letting the stripy Typhoid Marys live, saying targeting one site would only encourage badger movement around the country. However the government's chief boffin Sir David King thinks culling could be effective where badgers are contained, maybe by the sea or motorways. John Bourne, the author of the independent group report, said King's conclusions were not in line with the science and were "consistent with the political need to do something about it", many reports note. King's comments do seem strange given badgers' well known ability to cross or tunnel under roads.