Wales has an enviable record of declining BTB in cattle - without having to kill a single badger. Jan Bayley explains how Wales's combination of frequent testing and exacting biosecurity has succeeded - and how England can learn from Wales's experience.
… How Wales is defeating bovine TB without killing … News Badgers Natural World Farming Health Wales UK welsh-cow.jpg It's about the cattle, … Cliffs Bay, Penmaen (near Swansea), South Wales. Photo: Mélanie via Flickr.com. Wales …
New figures just released by Defra show that bovine TB was declining in UK herds - just as Paterson claimed the disease was 'spreading' - and that Wales's no-cull, biosecurity and vaccination policy led to a 24% drop in herd infections.
… the disease was 'spreading' - and that Wales's no-cull, biosecurity and vaccination … are a little confused: they cover England, Wales and Scotland separately, but also … infected had actually dropped. And what about Wales? But it's in Wales that things get …
With the 6th International Conference on Bovine TB under way today in Cardiff, Lesley Docksey reports on Defra's latest statistics. BTB in England is falling - and it's falling fastest where the strongest biosecurity measures are in place, confirming the experience of Wales and Scotland.
… Natural World Badgers UK Health Farming cows-wales-cut.jpg With the 6th International … are in place, confirming the experience of Wales and Scotland. On 12 June Defra released … their valuable herds being slaughtered. Wales - annual BTB testing is key In vain have …
A Friends of the Earth Cymru legal challenge to the Welsh Government's 'irrational' plan to drive a new branch of the M4 motorway across the highly protected Gwent Levels wetlands begins in the High Court today.
… The Ecologist | 10th March 2015 News UK Wales Law Transport Natural World … Gwent Levels, just south of Newport in South Wales. The new six-lane road, costed at £1 … its 14-mile path, ripping through one of Wales's most precious wildlife habitats. "This …
Talis Kalnars was a pioneer of 'continuous cover' forestry in Britain, writes Phil Morgan. His woodlands were not only beautiful but profitable, as he nurtured the 'natural capital' of the forest ecosystem, and only harvested the dividend of high value timber.
… Natural World Economics Green Economy UK Wales talis-kalnars.jpg Talis Kalnars was a … a career as an independent forester in mid-Wales that started in 1959 with a close-knit … I would lose my job." The Dinam estate in mid-Wales To demonstrate his methods, Talis took …
You would think vets would take animal welfare seriously, writes Lesley Docksey. So why does the British Veterinary Association (BVA) support England's badger cull - when all the science is telling them it's both cruel, and ineffective against Bovine TB?
… How can it justify its awkward position? BVA: Wales's cull-free success 'a backward step' In March 2012 Wales took the decision not to cull badgers. … were also free of the disease. And what about Wales's no-killing success? What is the BVA's …
England is about to extend its badger cull policy to five new areas of the country, proving that only that science is a dead letter to May's conservative government as it was to Cameron's. While bovine TB infections in cattle rise in the existing cull areas, Wales has just achieved a cull-free 14% reduction.
… Science Politics Health Food Farming England Wales UK badger-cut.jpg England is about to … in cattle rise in the existing cull areas, Wales has just achieved a cull-free 14% … being successfully controlled in Scotland and Wales without culling, relying instead on …
'Ocean giants' in our coastal waters are increasingly rare, writes Dr Lissa Batey, thanks to a host of threats from pollution to entrapment in fishing gear. Marine Protected Areas in England and Wales could help restore our cetaceans to their former abundance - but so far, only one has been designated for these species in Wales, and none in England.
… gear. Marine Protected Areas in England and Wales could help restore our cetaceans to … one has been designated for these species in Wales, and none in England. They may be the … MCZs in the waters around England and Wales, nor any of the 23 currently under …
The fox-hunting season is now well under way, writes Toni Shephard. But with Cameron still pressing for a Commons vote on wrecking amendments to the Hunting Act, political controversy shows no sign of subsiding. Take, for example, the proposed lifting of the limit on number of dogs that can be used for the 'observation or study' of a wild mammal.
… weaken the Hunting Act in England and Wales under the guise of bringing parity with … gun in sight. With 300 hunts in England and Wales enforcement would be nearly impossible. … attempt to weaken the Act. The England and Wales legislation already contains one …
In the second of our 'wildlife at risk' series, Sam Campbell reports how habitat loss, disease and funding cuts leave the iconic red squirrel facing a bleak future
… England with only a few thousand remaining in Wales. Prince Charles succinctly expressed the … approximately 30,000 in England, 10,000 in Wales (although recent estimates are … 60 per cent of grey squirrels in England and Wales carry the squirrel parapoxvirus, …
The Court of Appeal last month ruled that England's Badger cull is lawful despite the lack of independent supervision. But on the eve of a fresh Parliamentary debate, and with public opinion backing the badgers all the way, the Badger Trust is the clear winner where it really matters - in public hearts and minds.
… Cattle-based measures have halved bTB in Wales - so why not here? The poll also showed strong public support for Wales's strategy of TB reduction, based on … And all this is backed up by the situation in Wales, where they are beating the disease by …
The lives of all the thousands of badgers slaughtered in the name of TB eradication have been lost in vain, writes Martin Hancox. The cryptic reservoir of bovine TB is the cattle themselves, and no amount of badger killing will make the slightest difference to the problem. Once we have grasped this reality the solution is astonishingly simple: improved TB testing that picks up all infected cattle.
… of culls are balanced out. For example, Wales (2016), and TVR, Test, Vaccinate, Remove … 30,000 reactors in 2005, then 40,000 in 2008 (Wales 2015). The ISG in fact recorded this … badger effect. Since 2008 TB has halved in Wales, from 12,000 to 6,000 reactors, with a …
Paterson's speech to Parliament on the continuation of the badger cull was not so much a masterpiece of deception, writes Lesley Docksey, as a crude botch-up of errors, wrong statistics and a failure to understand the very real problem of TB in cattle.
… he was trying to do was belittle the success Wales has had in reducing its level of TB - a … programme, now in its third year. "As for Wales, I am delighted that there has been a … disease there. According to the farmers in Wales to whom I have spoken, it may be due to …
Out-of-date licensing rules mean water companies are taking too much water from rivers and threatening local ecosystems
… ecosystems River ecosystems in England and Wales are being increasingly threatened with … Agency, which regulates rivers in England and Wales, to revoke the most damaging licences by … how we manage water resources in England and Wales must be changed. 'Reducing unsustainable …
Organic farmer Charles Mann, aroused by The Ecologist's anti-cull stance, makes an evidence-based case for culling badgers in areas of high TB incidence - together with other measures including enhanced testing in apparently 'low risk' areas that present a high risk of disease spread.
… least annually (the same testing frequency as Wales); any cattle moved from areas deemed as … which is used around the world, including in Wales where much has been made of the success … the number of cattle slaughtered for bTB in Wales actually rose by 4.5% in 2014, compared …
The emergence of rainforest saving initiatives which are intent on action and are already proving successful is refreshing to see.
… grassroots initiatives, such as the Prince of Wales’s Rainforest Project, which are taking … Despite an encouraging start, The Prince of Wales states that the onus is on immediate … of our planet. The rainforests, the Prince of Wales says, are to be seen as “our greatest …
The Red Squirrel Appeal aims to raise money to develop a vaccine for a deadly disease that is quickly destroying the remaining population
… England with only a few thousand remaining in Wales. A n estimated 60 per cent of grey … replaced red squirrels in much of England and Wales, carry the squirrel parapoxvirus, …
At its Spring Conference in Harrogate yesterday the Green Party of England & Wales gave formal recognition to the Rights of Nature in an overwhelming vote, committing it to passing a new law to that effect at the earliest opportunity.
… yesterday the Green Party of England & Wales gave formal recognition to the Rights of … opportunity. The Green Party of England & Wales yesterday became the first UK-wide …
Owen Paterson's bold plans for a national badger cull rollout are now in tatters, writes Dominic Dyer, as he stands condemned by both sides in the debate. Wales shows the real way forward, with biosecurity, cattle movement control, TB testing and vaccination.
… stands condemned by both sides in the debate. Wales shows the real way forward, with … of finding alternatives to badger culling. Wales shows the way The Welsh TB eradication …
The 2009 Marine Act was meant to result in a full network of marine protected areas along the UK coast, writes Tom Hickey. But since then far too few MPAs have been created, and no real change or action has followed. Hence the launch of the Marine Charter today - to galvanise political will - and manifesto commitments - for the 2015 election.
… waters and UK waters adjacent to England and Wales, with a commitment to two further … respective parts of the network in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This strength of … ago vast native oyster fields the size of Wales carpeted the Irish Sea; thriving coastal …
A new study led by RSPB shows that more than half of Britain's most precious upland moors are suffering from burning - widely used to increase the numbers of red grouse available for recreational shooting.
… were mapped across Scotland, England and Wales, and revealed that burning occurred … and advice differs between England, Wales and Scotland, and the discrepancies …
A legal challenge has been launched against what would be Australia's biggest coal mine, writes Samantha Hepburn. If it succeeds, all future coal mine assessments will have to include the impacts of the resulting CO2 emissions on Australia's most important nature sites, such as the Great Barrier Reef.
… Reef. A legal challenge by the New South Wales Environmental Defenders Office on behalf … for the Anvill Coal Mine in New South Wales, the Federal Court held that the impact …
Brexit, backstops, transitions, free trade agreements. What does it all mean for our food, and for animal welfare?
… for goods coming from England, Scotland and Wales to the EU or Northern Ireland, but there … - which comprises England, Scotland and Wales but not Northern Ireland - would not …
Want to mix a little conservation with your holiday? Volunteering on Skomer Island, a haven for seabirds and nature lovers, is a rewarding experience says Eifion Rees
… by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, Skomer is open to visitors from April … protecting ospreys in the Glaslyn valley, Wales, to seabird conservation on Rathlin …