Skeptics Forum.

Thats great.
We all know it goes on but it's helpful to have someone with experience talk through it.

But once you give a treatment the aura of effectiveness and respectability which NHS use confers, it opens the way for the unscrupulous "practitioners" to lure the seriously ill away from real medicine. It's like giving homeopathy an "As recommended by the NHS" rubber stamp. Yes...

Government refuses to release report into whether badger cull is a waste of money
DEFRA said it was 'in the public interest' not to tell the public whether the slaughter has been worth the cost

[/i]

Full article from the Independent.

"Three top scientists who lead the government’s research on badger control join experts condemning cull." http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/02/badger-cull-experts-call-for-immediate-halt-programme The intervention comes as figures reveal the government has spent nearly £7,00...

True. But people are remarkably fond of (what many would describe as) cuddly animals. So there is potentially a political downside even if most people don't look at the matter very closely. I think it might be more to do with the relative wealth and clout of the farming lobby. Edit; I don't mean rel...

If you roll over you might get your tum tickled. :y

Not by me I should add….

What Bob said. AC - if we applied your argument to pet dogs rather than wild animals I'd agree. I saw some stats relating to dog attacks recently (I don't believe anyone has been savaged by an out of control badger of late?) and I for one am sick of being harassed and irritated by other people's can...

Urine and faeces allegedly Zep. There is a lack of data. Certainly badgers can carry it (as can deer, moles, domestic cats). The dynamics of which species passes it to whom, how, and how often is not clearly understood. I think the thing with badgers is that they can carry it for a long time without...

Croydon13013 wrote:
The poor little "destructive, noisy nuisances" are scapegoats for NFU greed and corruption.

The policy has always struck me as a case of "something must be done, this is something, therefore…."

1) Badgers are alleged to give cows TB 2) Don't really know. If there is, many people think it's dodgy 1) Not exactly. Cows spread Bovine TB to badgers. Very occasionally this is passed back to cattle. It always originates with cattle. 2) There's lots of research, some mentioned in this thread. The...

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... estershire

A shame nobody pointed out the impracticalities of the plan before they started.

Ah! Wait…. !

Thanks. Think it must be this one; http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21628873.900-badger-cull--the-science-behind-the-gamble.html?page=1 Can't say I'm convinced it adds much, differing interpretations of same studies. Even if we dismiss the problems many experts are pointing out with the policy,...

Do you have a link Tony? I dont have time to get into an involved debate (fighting fires I'm afaraid) but here's the Defra final report with some of their conclusions; http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/isg/report/final_report.pdf 1.On the basis of our careful review of...

Who would have thunk it? Cull was to start any day now. But Winter came. All sudden and surprising and unexpected. Spoiled the perfectly good plan.

On Friday they were denying any delay.

Depressing and infuriating; Badger cull 'mindless', say scientists Government's chief scientist among those who dispute evidence used to justify killings, which may begin imminently [/b] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/13/badger-cull-mindless Culling badgers could increase the problem...