THE Welsh Assembly Government (egged on by the NFU, FUW and the likes of Alun Davies and Brynle Williams) is making the biggest mistake of its political existence if it doesn’t call off its proposed killing of badgers in a foolish attempt to halt TB.
What it should be doing is following Northern Ireland’s example. By this I mean STRICT cattle movements and more rigorous testing.
Southern Ireland is still killing badgers and yet the incidence of TB is higher than it is in the north of the country, where they have stricter cattle movements and better testing for the disease. Any farmers caught moving cattle illegally are prosecuted.
But is it any wonder that TB is rife among cattle in Wales when so many are kept in filthy, over-crowded conditions?
The life of a cow is one of misery too. She's forced to give up her baby, then has to bear the double burden of producing far more milk than she would naturally for her calf, while at the same time being constantly re-impregnated.
No wonder cows are vulnerable to disease when they are abused like this and kept in an almost permanent state of hunger.
Filth and poor nutrition are the keystones to picking up this deadly disease, so we need to see Trading Standards doing more to prosecute farmers found guilty of neglecting their animals.
Another point worth making is that cattle abroad are inoculated against TB. It seems mad to me that Britain still ignores this as an alternative to killing cows and their offspring.
By ignoring the Governments own scientific advisers, this Assembly is making a huge mistake. Unfortunately, farmers get public funds to compensate them when cattle test positive for TB.
In fact subsidies are the only reason most are kept in business. They make a damn good living out of the taxpayer, full stop.
Even people like me (a vegan) is forced to subsidise their cruel industry.
No other industry is subsidised, so why should farmers be any different? They should not be allowed to make their living from the back of the taxpayer, they should be forced to stand on their own two feet, then just maybe we might a see a dramatic improvement in animal husbandry.
