Memorandum submitted by Mrs W Strickland
(BTB 11)
1. Re your meeting to monitor/scrutinize
the use of taxpayers money on badgers the major way currently
used to control Bovine TB in the National Herd.
2. I was horrified to find the few scientists
on the list are on or have been directly or indirectly involved
in the cull and paid by the government/DEFRA. No independent scientist
will be there to challenge these "experts".
3. They have spent millions of taxpayers
money and wasted as much again in lives of badgers/cattle to date
have no proven scientific explanation to how badgers can pass
TB to cattle, only statistics which we all know can be used to
advantage on any subject.
4. Mr Martin Hancox and ex member of government
badger panel is unpaid by anyone. He has been personally asked
by Dr Debby Reynolds Chief Government Vet to attend New Stakeholder
Group. He has asked to take part in your meeting and been refused.
He has spent 15 years researching Bovine TB and is rightly placed
to challenge the multitude of statistics to be thrown at you.
A member of your committee said he will not be invited as a scientific
expert on committees as it was felt to be inappropriate.
5. Why? I don't believe the statistics will
stand scrutiny especially when the effect of testing and culling
of cattle has been disregarded in some instances during the correlation.
Annual testing and removal of affected cattle has proven to be
effective in control of TB. All EU countries have stopped using
badgers as scapegoats and have TB under control. Northern Ireland
also reduced TB by 40% by same. TB in our herds could pose a real
threat to public health and challenge our free TB status in the
EU.
6. Government wanted proper scientific footing;
resuming culling cannot be so Krebs Bourne have failed to clarify
how badgers pass TB. Culling badgers has also done nothing to
reduce TB burden in cattle. We will be breaking our own law and
in conflict with Bern Convention. Culling badgers is impractical/unaffordable/unjustified.
The past 35 years have been about money and political reputation.
Dr Richard Meyers CBIOL/MIOL ex MAFF consultant states (MAFF)
DEFRA committees cannot be independent stacked as it is with representatives
of factional interests and great political clout.
7. MAFF (DEFRA) have never answered the
questions how was Bovine TB virtually eliminated badgers prior
to 1970 without recourse to target a single badger and why with
removal of so many no eliminated or even reduced it.
8. As a taxpayer I feel the above should
be answered, the last 30 years have debased the name of science,
a great disservice to farmers and cheated and mislead the public.
9. Now is the time to finish completely
the badger farce and return to the proven and effective methods
available which would control TB and afford fair and long term
proper compensation to farmers.
February 2006
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