Badger Cull

Report accuses Government of issuing 17 cull licences despite leading Natural England scientist saying the action could not be 'justified'

NFU President Tom Bradshaw said: "The success of the bTB eradication strategy is dependent on a range of methods to tackle the disease, including badger vaccination, responsible cattle movements and badger control"

So my time on Defra's Bovine TB Partnership has unexpectedly come to an end. My three-year term ended and was disappointingly, for me, not extended

The UFU said they remain determined to ensure none of the 'barbaric proposals' come to pass and will continue to 'exhaust every avenue to safeguard the future of NI's agri industry'

The plans will be subjected to a five-week consultation and would look to retain badger culling as an option in targeted parts only of the high-risk area and edge areas including much of southwest and central England

James farms Dairy Shorthorns east of Kendal, Cumbria, with his parents Kathleen and Henry, wife Michelle and sons Robert and Chris. The fifth generation to farm at Strickley, he is also vice-chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network

The Department for Agriculture, environment and rural affairs have issued a proposal to reduce the compensation rate for cattle removed under the bovine Tuberculosis programme

Normally the family aim to milk a herd of around 120 cows, but at the moment they are only milking 70 cows

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He said the cull would continue in the short term, adding there was enough reason to see it was a way of ‘preventing transmission'. But he added it was not a ‘sustainable answer to the problem' and wanted to work with farmers to develop the cattle vaccine