Damning report and new PM means more delays on bTB

THE ISG’s report has killed stone dead any prospect of an imminent announcement on the issuing of licences to farmers to kill badgers.

In the months leading up to the publication of the ISG report, the signals coming from Defra were that they were preparing to announce, ‘in principle’ at least, the lifting of the moratorium on issuing badger culling licences.

The moratorium had been in place since the start of the Randomised Badger Culling Trials (RBCT) and the publication of the final report means a decision is needed soon.

There was talk of a possible announcement soon after the publication of the ISG’s report but that was in the expectation that it might contain somewhere in its 289 pages something to suggest culling, if carried out in a certain way, could be beneficial.

In the event there was nothing but utter and outright rejection of any form of culling under any circumstance.

Any policy announcement on culling is likely to be challenged in the courts by pro-badger campaigners. Ministers, said by sources to be ‘unhappy’ at the one-sided nature of the ISG report, are well aware that the chances of it surviving a Judicial Review are greatly diminished by the report. As, of course, would be the prospects of political and public support.

Adding to the uncertainty, next week sees a new Prime Minister in place, which in all likelihood will result in changes within the Defra Ministerial team, including possibly a new Secretary of State.

New faces are unlikely to want to move quickly on this issue. The expectation is that while there maybe an initial response to the ISG report before next month’s Parliamentary recess, the issue of badger licences will slip back down the political agenda again, if it was ever genuinely up there in the first place.

In a Parliamentary statement marking the publication of the ISG report Defra Secretary David Miliband did his best to keep his options open.

Acknowledging the ISG’s conclusions he stressed that Defra’s approach to tackling bTB was based on ‘all the available evidence’, a signal that he was prepared to look beyond its report.

“We will be considering the issues [the report] raises very carefully and will continue to work with the industry, government advisers and scientific experts in reaching a final policy decision on this serious issue,” he said.

He said it was ‘indisputable’ that bTB remained a ‘serious problem’ for the farming industry and generated significant costs for farmers and taxpayers.

He said he would ‘consider carefully’ the ISG’s conclusions on extra cattle control measures but warned they would mean increased costs for Government and farmers.

“We will therefore need to work with the farming industry and the veterinary profession to assess the implications of these recommendations,” he said.