Misinformation drags farmers' reputations through mud
NFU Cumbrian County Chairman Robert Craig explains why he’s worried increasing confusion surrounding a proposed cull of badgers is being seized upon by those with an agenda against farmers
I was appalled by a letter published in a local weekly newspaper in Cumbria which suggested 130 badgers had been killed in Penrith to remove the risk of TB in cattle. This was not only fundamentally incorrect, but in my opinion a malicious attempt to drag the well-earned trusted and caring reputation of this county’s farmers through the mud.
Living and farming in rural Cumbria is something I consider a great privilege. My family and I spend 365 days a year in and amongst the flora, fauna and wildlife of the countryside. We see ourselves as the custodians of this beautiful landscape and care about the wildlife that live alongside us.
Battling the scourge of bovine TB in our herds and wildlife is the biggest challenge facing livestock farmers in the county. The NFU believes we need to deal with the disease in badgers to break the vicious cycle of testing and slaughtering cattle on beef and dairy farms. In order to do this, the badgers in disease hot spots should be controlled through a carefully managed and monitored cull.
For a cull to take place it needs to be done in an area of high TB incidence, over a distance of 150 square kilometres surrounded by hard geographic boundaries. Defra’s intention was to pilot the use of controlled shooting in a maximum of two areas before they allow the policy to roll out any further. These pilot areas will be overseen by an expert group who will evaluate the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of controlled shooting. I can say with certainty that neither of these pilot areas are in Cumbria. Thankfully, neither do we have any areas of high TB incidence over a distance of 150 square kilometres, which means the potential of a badger cull of any kind in Cumbria is highly unlikely.
Once you get engrossed in the finer detail of a proposed badger cull, the issue is far from clear cut – in fact it can be quite complicated. I’m therefore not entirely surprised that a high percentage of the general public have got the wrong end of the stick as they have their suppers watching the evening news. I’m well aware that many people now think farmers the length and breadth of the country can freely shoot badgers. Of course, farmers cannot and wouldn’t want to do that, but the public’s ignorance of this matter is entirely forgivable and it’s farmers’ job to put the record straight
Public confusion surrounding a proposed badger cull is being pounced upon by commentators with an agenda against farmers. I feel there’s a certain degree of schadenfreude taking place and that is unforgiveable.
Can I make it very clear that farmers in this county want to see a healthy cattle and badger population. They cannot go around shooting badgers at will. They are protected animals, to kill them would be a criminal offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 – an offence that can result in a custodial sentence.
British agriculture has the potential to be an engine for growth in the economy. In the past five years we have increased output from £15 to £20 billion a year. Our gross value added has been rising by 6.2 per cent year on year.
It’s high time the facts were correctly reported or we risk damaging our agriculture industry at a time when it should be supported by all as we aim to produce more in an environmentally sustainable way. Let’s not harm an industry that’s helping this country get back on its financial feet, all because those with a hidden agenda don’t care about the facts and those that publish the fallacies don’t check there authenticity. Surely that cannot be right?
