In a very busy news day, it’s interesting to note that the decision not to cull badgers in NI is the one that has prevailed for England.
And this in spite of advice to cull from the last Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government. If you relish controversies, this is the mother and father of them all.
What was life like for children of political activists during the Troubles? A new book by Bill Rolston and published by Guildhall Press during the summer has collected together the stories of twenty Children of the Revolution whose parents’ activities – and in many cases, imprisonment – had a significant affect on childhoods and life [...] read our review »
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Perhaps as someone who spent some long months as a child in Crawfordsburn sanatorium being treated for tubercolosis I might be expected to have something useful to add to this thread but I’m afraid I’m not sure that I have as my knowledge of badgers is limited to anthropomorphic childhood books.
The experience of culling badgers in the Republic of Ireland would suggest that this approach offers protection to cattle and the cattle farming industry in the UK would point to that experience while the green lobby would argue that it simply doesn’t work and poor Brock suffers to no good purpose.
Since my contempt for and loathing of both lobbies is pretty evenly divided I think I will remain agnostic on this issue.
Of course the Labour party’s relationship with badgers has peviously spilled over into controversy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/mar/10/uk.wales
Perhaps I should add that a man really would be unlikely to need to replace his badger hair shaving brush (which is the only type of shaving brush to have) more than three times in his lifetime, if that, so there really is no great need for an enormous badger supply.
18% of Badgers are known to carry TB. However this figure is only taken from the Badger Road Traffic Accident Survey, therefore I would hazard a guess that if there was a survey specifically carried out in an infected area, such as South West Armagh, then the figure would be significantly more.
http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/qanda/2007mandate/writtenans/080620.htm#2
Maith thú fhéin an Gael uasal sin a rinn cosaint láidir ar son na broic! Tá’s agat fhéin cé thú féin.
Having listened to a discussion of this matter on Radio4 earlier I now of course feel that I am well armed to offer an opinion. In fact I’ll offer two:
Firstly, it would appear that it is bovine tubercolosis from which badgers are suffering. In other words it is Brock that is the innocent victim here in which case natural justice demands that we cull the bloody cattle! Eat more venison! Let’s invade Scotland!
But then I’m tempted to think that cuddly New Labour has simply ignored the advice of its Chief Scientific Adviser because of a fear of alienating that middle class support whose feelings on the matter have been formed by nanny’s nightly readings from The Wind in the Willows, which I suppose gives new meaning to the concept of “the nanny state”.
As to Sammy McNally etc.’s naughty reminder of Ron Davies’s association with Brock I await with some trepidation a flurry of “beaver”-baiting responses from the militant gay lobby.
How can you trust an animal that looks like a burglar?
Cull them all, let god sort them out!
can you eat them ??
My, my, this is fast becoming an inventive thread. Eating burglars? A novel response to this growing nuisance but not to be discounted for all that.
Whatever about Britain there is a fundamental constutional issue here ( apart from the potentail digestive point of view mentioned above) becasue badgers like Republicans do not recognise the border between Roi and Non Iron – although admittedly for completley different reasons. Also I dont think Republicans of whatever colour( this is not just black and white issue) would have been reassured that totally innocent and disease free ROI badgers would not be maliciously put to the sword/poison/machete by the remnants of British agricultural imperialism if such a cull was introduced in the 6-north-eastern-not-quite-as-occupied-as-they were-counties of our country.
The only badgers that would have cause to cross the border from the Republic in sovereign UK territory must be deemed to be Real or Continuity badgers intent on harm and therefore must expect to get what they deserve – a stiff editorial in The News Letter (and that’s not one, not two, but three words by the way) deploring their incursion.
Lots of badger holes around the Maze.
Rory,
… and of course there was the despicable treatment visited on the Border Fox when he ventured northward.
.. and of course badgers are ideal recruits for an underground movement.
My favorite badger is the aptly named ‘badger’ from Roald Dahl’s ‘Fantastic Mister Fox’ which of course was a metaphor for the Irish struggle for Independence against the Evil Empire in the shape of the three no good farmers “Bogis and Bunce and Bean – one fat, one short one mean”.
badger a la continuity – garlic and butter
badger a la real – ginger and scallions
badger a la all else – ardbeg and cream
i love badgers……
Lozza,
Love for badgers can be oft times end in tears – see post 2 above.
What’s the impact on the Southern Irish cull been of a non-cull policy in the North?
Rgds
Ah, the dead hand of reality returns – killing off the interest of badger fantasists such as myself.
It was Sammy Mc Nally what done it,
All brilliant but your 5.11pm post is just perfect.
Regards
Caitriona Ruane’s been looking a bit badgered to me.
Bloody typical! Bringing foxes into it. You just had to start the whataboutery. Now some other faction will be bleating on about bloody sheep. Just keep the gerbils out of it, please, otherwise we’ll have an infestation of Dalai Lama supporters chanting and driving us all mad with their little finger cymbals.
Did someone mention Richard Gere?
Sorry, as that other great Fox, Basil Brush, would say: BOOM BOOM
thanks!