Badger Culling speech by Jane Brophy to Trafford Council

Councillor Jane Brophy's Badger speech at 2 hours 14 minutes:

Culling badgers is not only cruel it is flawed.

Here in Trafford I believe we must completely oppose it.

Bovine TB is a problem for cattle, not wildlife.

Nearly all infections are transmitted between cattle and only a tiny number come from badgers.

The badger cull is a dangerous distraction from addressing the main routes of transmission and prevention.

The strategy to cull badgers is harmful and pointless. We must look at developing more effective ways of addressing bovine TB such as vaccinations for both cattle and badgers.

In Trafford we should call from the cull to be ended in favour of strategic and widespread badger vaccination schemes, and to invest in developing a cattle vaccine.

Only 5% of bovine TB is transmitted directly from badgers, thus, culling badgers is not the answer and it is also counterproductive.

Culling disrupts badgers' social structure, causing them to move around more frequently and over longer distances. All these things can result in increased bovine TB transmission.

Fellow councillors, let's call for something better than culling for badgers, farmers and cattle in Trafford.

Councillor Jane Brophy