We are appalled to hear that the badger cull will once again go ahead in Derbyshire.

We understand the devastation that bovine tuberculosis (bTB) causes to affected farmers and the wider farming community, but we need to find the right mechanisms to control the disease. However, badgers are not the primary cause of the spread of bTB in cattle.

On 30th August, the Government launched its strategy to use a scientific approach to end the badger cull and accelerate the development of a cattle vaccine. Despite this encouraging news the Government’s strategy is not urgent enough. Thousands of badgers will be needlessly killed whilst the cull is allowed to continue until new measures are rolled out and take effect.