Badgers and bovines

What’s so special about badgers that they have become the ‘sacred cow’ of Britain and cannot be culled to control bovine TB? Badgers are not the ‘shrinking violets’ some would have us believe. They are a robust species, numerous and widely distributed over the UK. The only debate about badger culling ( for bTB control) should be about whether or not it is an effective method of solving the problem – and research indicates that it isn’t.

In contrast, some species can be killed just because they are there. Black rat control on the Shiant Islands has been completed despite the fact that this species is now rare. Yet another example of “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others”!

John Woods, via email