Teresa May's promise to bring back foxhunting has proved one of the most unpopular items in the Tories' election platform. So we should not be surprised at the official silence over the TB-infected hounds in the Kimblewick hunt, writes Lesley Docksey. Nor, given the political power of foxhunting landowners, should we be surprised that officials are shrugging off any idea that bad biosecurity in hunt kennels could possibly have anything to do with TB in cattle.
… Docksey | 15th May 2017 Comment Hunting Politics Health Badgers Science …
We know the outcome of Defra's latest 'public consultation' on killing badgers long before the results have even been analysed, writes Lesley Docksey. Environment secretary Andrea Leadsom has already promised farmers to extend the cull 'even further' - although it brings no proven benefits. Welcome to the new world of 'alternative facts' that's driving UK government policy.
… | 27th February 2017 News Badgers UK England Politics Health Science Natural World Farming …
'We need to look at the best scientific evidence' on badgers and bovine TB, says Environment Secretary Liz Truss. But as Lesley Docksey writes, the 'best scientific evidence' appears to mean only that which supports the cull - and there's precious little of it!
… Natural World Farming Science UK Health Politics mrs-badger-cut.jpg Badger. Photo: … the process, who they said were now 'playing politics'." But people like science only when …
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?
… international reach on issues of war, peace, politics and the environment. See her other …
Wales has achieved enviable success in reducing bovine TB in its cattle herds without killing badgers, writes Lesley Docksey. The farming lobby is still demanding an England-style cull, but the Welsh government's 'refreshed' policy on bTB remains firmly science-based and no badgers will be killed without 'objective evidence' of infection.
Wales demands 'objective evidence' before killing badgers. Whatever next? Lesley Docksey | 21st October 2016 Comment Badgers Health Wales UK Farming Science welsh-badgers-cut.jpg Wales has achieved …
With 29 applications for new badger culls, writes Lesley Docksey, the government still has no idea how many badgers there are in the cull areas, or how many of them have TB. Nor does it want to find out. The badger culling project is getting less scientific by the day - or should that be by the square kilometre?
… | 23rd February 2016 Comment Badgers Health Politics Science UK Regulation Hunting …
Brian May is best known as lead guitarist for the rock band Queen. But as Lesley Docksey discovers, he is also an astrophysicist, and a committed - and highly effective - advocate for Britain's wild animals, including badgers put at risk by England's cull programme.
… international reach on issues of war, peace, politics and the environment. See her other …
The news that the Kimblewick Hunt's hounds are infested with bovine TB has come as a shock to farmers and hunters, writes Lesley Docksey. But it's no surprise to campaigners against the badger cull, who have long complained about poor farm hygiene and the feeding by hunts of disease-ridden 'fallen cattle' carcasses to foxhounds - never mind that the cattle are likely bTB carriers!
Bovine TB found in foxhounds - and nothing to do with badgers! Now what? Lesley Docksey | 9th March 2017 News Badgers Natural World Health Hunting Farming slaughtered fallen stock - hounds …
Al available science indicates that badgers have little if anything to do with bovine TB in cattle, writes Lesley Docksey. This is reflected in Wales's consultation on its 'refreshed TB Eradication Programme'. We must hope that Northern Ireland's bTB Eradication Strategy will be equally science based - and ready to campaign hard if it relies on cruel, ineffective and expensive badger culls.
Badger cull free TB eradication in Wales and Northern Ireland? The science demands it! Lesley Docksey | 6th December 2016 News Badgers Science Health UK Northern Ireland Wales farmyard-cut.jpg Al …