Help - I feel under threat!

 

Again, like foxes, more townies see badgers than country folk Not surprising - they are nocturnal, and they live underground (the badgers that is, not country folk ).
I live in a completely rural area, I am often skulking around the fields in the middle of the night with a lamp looking for foxes and rabbits, yet the only time I see badgers is as roadkill.

 

You are confusing two issues here. The TB problem from Eastern Europe and other parts of the world are caused by M. tuberculosis ('human' TB), which is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Also the BCG vaccination against this is not very effective. Badgers and cattle become infected with M. bovis. This can also be transferred to humans to produce a clinically similar disease to M. tuberculosis. M. bovis contaminates milk and the meat from infected cattle is unusable.

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"Seems absolutly amazing that theryre is still debate on the transfer of disease - i mean it either happens or it dont . "

It is beyond question that there is a high incidence of M. bovis in the badger population. The debate is whether the badgers are just victims of the cattle infection or are they spreading it back to other cattle. Difficult to prove conclusively, but population and epidemiology studies strongly support the infection of cattle by badgers.

 

I can't believe we've got 3 pages into this thread without anyone suggesting we let loose packs of hunting horses to control the badger population ...


What is SN coming to ???

 

BTW, I once hit a badger with an old fiesta. new front panel, front member and radiator. bent exhaust and cracked manifold. The little sod still got up and ran off, didn't even get chance to back up over him (to put it out of it's misery).

 

well i still say a cull is good wether they carry tb or not, pesky things are everywhere