Cattle farmer defends badgers (From Gazette Series)

Cattle farmer defends badgers

A WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE farmer is defending badgers against a cull despite having faced bovine tuberculosis (TB) in his own cattle.

Len Ballinger used to graze beef cattle on land adjoining Alderley Farm near Wotton-under-Edge.

In 1971 Ministry of Agriculture vets investigating TB in his cattle discovered a dead badger. Subsequent tests detected TB starting what became a widespread theory that cattle might catch the disease from badgers.

More than 30 years later, however, Mr Ballinger does not believe the government's suggestion of a cull on badgers is the answer to ridding the country of TB.

He said: "My own suspicion even in 1971 was that intensification was to blame. My cattle grazed on land next to a highly intensive dairy unit, where the cows were kept indoors permanently and the slurry was pumped out onto surrounding fields.

"I was convinced my own cattle had caught the TB via that route."

Last month the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ended a public consultation on whether a badger cull was the best solution to combat TB but the government body is yet to make a decision.

A spokesman for Defra said: "We received just over 40,000 replies during the consultation which ended on March 10.

"Now we are looking at the replies and all the other scientific evidence and we will be making an announcement in due course."

The consultation attracted the support of the National Farmers' Union (NFU).

Ian Johnson, South West spokesman for the NFU, said: "It is accepted by all parties that badgers are a cause or a link in the disease.

"We have high numbers of TB in the South West because we have a high number of badgers. Badger and cattle have different physiology. Badgers excrete TB from every pore."

Mr Ballinger may well be on his own in his campaign to protect badgers.

The farmer does not even have the support of his MP, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who did not sign an early day motion recently tabled recently in the House of Commons against a badger cull.

The Conservative MP for the Cotswolds said: "There are thousands of early day motions each year and I rarely sign any. If they concern a major issue then I tend to speak with the minister.

"We need to look at the scientific evidence before we make our minds up but TB is spreading and getting worse and we need to look at the reasons for this.

"We need to remember the devastating effect TB can have on a farmer and his workers livelihoods. We need to look at how we can help them."