It is encouraging to read the reports that where badger culling has taken place, the number of new TB outbreaks in two of the counties, have been reduced by half. On the back of this positive and significant report, new badger culls will now begin.
As reported in the Farmers Weekly, it is significant that the British Veterinary Association, which has always adopted a cautious approach to badger culling, has now voiced support for the government’s TB policy.
In the last twelve months 44,187 TB reactor cattle were slaughtered in the UK. The cost to the taxpayer was over £100m.
Until a vaccine is developed, which short term seems unlikely, the culling of badgers, which are not an endangered species, is the only practical answer.
The broadcaster Chris Packham has said that the UK is witnessing a “mass extinction in our own backyards” due to a lack of regard for the environment – building roads and houses through natural habitats and using pesticides in farming.
He said that forty-four million birds have disappeared from the countryside over the last 40 years, and the number of hedgehogs has dropped from approximately 30 million in the 1950s to 15 million in 1995.
What Mr Packham fails to say when he regularly blames the farming community for just about everything, is that a major cause of the dwindling bird population is the huge escalation in the number of domestic cats. And when it comes to the massacre of ground nesting birds and hedgehogs, look no further than the explosion in the number of badgers.
As for farmers using sprays during the process of producing food for an ever increasing population, I think Mr Packham should acknowledge that compared with times past, the chemicals which are used today are massively diluted to parts per million, mostly innocuous and heavily regulated.
It is deeply shocking that labour back bench MP Luciana Berger requires 24 hour police protection following death threats, and abuse on social media, for daring to criticise Jeremy Corbyn.
This follows the pattern of moderate labour MPs being systematically deselected by their constituency executives, through votes of no-confidence. In most cases this has come about following an influx of new extreme Corbynist members joining the party.
Unfortunately aggressive behaviour seems to be the acceptable norm today amongst those wishing to disrupt the status quo. During the Scottish Independence Referendum, those campaigning for independence played dirty. Their aggressive behaviour was intimidating and unacceptable.
Equally those now wishing to reverse the result of the Referendum, are using threatening behaviour.
Much of the terror tactics is directed through social media but not all by any means. We have all witnessed the threats and intimidation, as did candidates in the General Elections who received menacing mail and had posters defaced with abusive and vulgar images.
It seems the days of intelligent debate are over. There are factions who ignore the democratic right to speak up and be counted. They attempt to silence through thuggery those who speak up for what is best for our county, our children and their future.
How dare Monsieur Macron call those who campaigned for Brexit liars. This pip squeak of a President who is already past his sell by date, and punching well above his pay grade, has insulted 17.4million British voters, at a stroke.
I am no fan of Mrs May or her Chequers fudge which was a dead duck even before her trip to Salzburg. Even so, the insults and bullying that she had to put up with from the likes of Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, was unacceptable.
Let us hope that the PM, and her Remain chums now recognise just how fortunate we are to be about to regain our independence. Now is the time to pick up the baton and run with the Canada free trade option.
As reported in the Farmers Weekly, it is significant that the British Veterinary Association, which has always adopted a cautious approach to badger culling, has now voiced support for the government’s TB policy.
In the last twelve months 44,187 TB reactor cattle were slaughtered in the UK. The cost to the taxpayer was over £100m.
Until a vaccine is developed, which short term seems unlikely, the culling of badgers, which are not an endangered species, is the only practical answer.
The broadcaster Chris Packham has said that the UK is witnessing a “mass extinction in our own backyards” due to a lack of regard for the environment – building roads and houses through natural habitats and using pesticides in farming.
He said that forty-four million birds have disappeared from the countryside over the last 40 years, and the number of hedgehogs has dropped from approximately 30 million in the 1950s to 15 million in 1995.
What Mr Packham fails to say when he regularly blames the farming community for just about everything, is that a major cause of the dwindling bird population is the huge escalation in the number of domestic cats. And when it comes to the massacre of ground nesting birds and hedgehogs, look no further than the explosion in the number of badgers.
As for farmers using sprays during the process of producing food for an ever increasing population, I think Mr Packham should acknowledge that compared with times past, the chemicals which are used today are massively diluted to parts per million, mostly innocuous and heavily regulated.
It is deeply shocking that labour back bench MP Luciana Berger requires 24 hour police protection following death threats, and abuse on social media, for daring to criticise Jeremy Corbyn.
This follows the pattern of moderate labour MPs being systematically deselected by their constituency executives, through votes of no-confidence. In most cases this has come about following an influx of new extreme Corbynist members joining the party.
Unfortunately aggressive behaviour seems to be the acceptable norm today amongst those wishing to disrupt the status quo. During the Scottish Independence Referendum, those campaigning for independence played dirty. Their aggressive behaviour was intimidating and unacceptable.
Equally those now wishing to reverse the result of the Referendum, are using threatening behaviour.
Much of the terror tactics is directed through social media but not all by any means. We have all witnessed the threats and intimidation, as did candidates in the General Elections who received menacing mail and had posters defaced with abusive and vulgar images.
It seems the days of intelligent debate are over. There are factions who ignore the democratic right to speak up and be counted. They attempt to silence through thuggery those who speak up for what is best for our county, our children and their future.
How dare Monsieur Macron call those who campaigned for Brexit liars. This pip squeak of a President who is already past his sell by date, and punching well above his pay grade, has insulted 17.4million British voters, at a stroke.
I am no fan of Mrs May or her Chequers fudge which was a dead duck even before her trip to Salzburg. Even so, the insults and bullying that she had to put up with from the likes of Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, was unacceptable.
Let us hope that the PM, and her Remain chums now recognise just how fortunate we are to be about to regain our independence. Now is the time to pick up the baton and run with the Canada free trade option.
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