Press Release - VLA9 Project Lures Benn out of his Lair

VLA9 Project Lures Benn out of his Lair

Holsworthy, October 6, 2008: For the first time since the Labour government came to power in 1997, a Secretary of State responsible for agriculture has visited farmers in Torridge and West Devon whose cattle have been affected by tuberculosis. Hillary Benn’s meeting with farmers in the region worst affected by Britain’s most serious cattle disease marks a welcome step forward in the government’s recognition of the threat posed by TB.

For the first time, Mr Benn acknowledged that DEFRA will have to put in place a TB eradication plan, although it still refuses to recognise the plain fact that a licensed, controlled badger cull will be necessary to reverse the spread of TB in England.

At the request of Geoffrey Cox MP, who sits on the DEFRA Select Committee, the Secretary of State met farmers, representatives of industry groups and veterinary surgeons at the farm of Philip Allen, the NFU Chairman for the Holsworthy area. Mr Allen and Bill Harper, Chairman of the National Beef Association’s TB Committee, confronted Mr Benn with 1,400 signed applications for licenses to cull badgers and the results of a mapping process showing the link between badger populations and incidences of TB infection in cattle across 75% of the VLA9 area.

In spite of his recognition that EU disease control law would compel DEFRA to put in place a TB eradication plan, the Secretary of State inexplicably refuses to admit that DEFRA stands in contempt of the 1992 Badger Protection ACT, which stipulates that licenses to control badger populations that spread diseases “shall not be unreasonably withheld.” Although DEFRA acknowledges the link between badgers and TB in cattle, it has so far refused to issue licenses to farmers.

Vet Andrew Cobner of the Penbode Practice in Holsworthy presented Mr Benn with a detailed study of TB incidence in the practice’s area over the last five years. His research shows a slight decline in the number of confirmed TB cases between 2005 and 2007, following the close of the Randomised Badger Culling Trials (RBCT) in 2004. In 2008, however, there has been a 50% increase in TB cases. Mr Cobner’s research supports the conclusions of Rosie Woodruffe’s DEFRA-commissioned study following the RBCT – namely, that a period of culling can successfully restrict the spread of TB in cattle thereafter. 

Thousands of farmers in the South West stand ready to assist DEFRA in curbing the destructive spread of TB in the region through a legally-sanctioned badger cull. The Secretary of State’s unwillingness to work with farmers in tackling this disease is driven entirely by political self-interest and stands in opposition to scientific findings and the ideal of disease control. Mr Benn may calculate that a badger cull would be unpopular among wildlife-loving voters. After hearing from farmer Johnnie Yewdall, who has lost numerous cows to TB, though, he would be well advised to reconsider his analysis. There is no reason to believe that the public would not accept a badger cull, but are content with the unnecessary culling of beautiful Guernsey cows because of a wholly preventable disease.
Later this year, a Judicial Review will determine whether DEFRA has acted lawfully in rejecting cull license applications. We believe the High Court Judge will rule that it has not, ensuring DEFRA’s compliance with the right approach to TB control in the future. For now, farmers must stand together in refusing to discuss further disease control plans with DEFRA until it either shows the good sense to accept what farmers have known for generations – that culling badgers is the only way to control TB in cattle – or is forced to do so. ENDS

CONTACT: Bill Harper, Tel. +01409 254 300

NOTES

VLA9 is strain of TB found in cattle in North West Devon and North Cornwall. Its covers Bideford, Okehampton, Bodmin and Padstow. The VLA9 Project has recommended that DEFRA allow farmers to protect the health of their cattle by culling badgers themselves under a licensing system.