NFU members are to be given the opportunity to air their views on the proposed badger cull as a consultation on the issue gets underway.
NFU President Peter Kendall will meet members over the next 12 weeks to discuss the details of the consultation – and to hear what farmers have to say.
Earlier this month Defra Minister Jim Paice announced a three-month consultation on a series of proposals to help control bovine TB in cattle. The consultation document provides a range of policy options which would permit the control, under licence, of badgers in areas with high and persistent levels of TB, such as the West Country and the West Midlands.
Mr Kendall said: "We really do encourage every farmer to attend these meetings, if they can, to understand in more detail what the proposals might mean for them.
"I understand there will be individuals and groups who will be opposed to these proposals but I firmly believe that it is in everyone’s interest that we seek to control the spread of bTB. Our common purpose is to have healthy cattle and healthy badgers.
"Many farmers live with the reality of bTB day in day out. The disease brings untold misery, stress and worry and has an enormous emotional impact on farming families as they work to keep up with this terrible cycle of infection and re-infection. There’s also the huge impact this disease has on farming businesses through movement restrictions and the needless slaughter of cattle – bTB acts like a break on competitiveness and destroys years of hard work."
