Everything you need to know about Derbyshire Against the Cull

Since 2013, the UK has been implementing a strategy of culling the country’s badger population to control the spread of bovine tuberculosis, a disease that causes native farmers more problems than perhaps any other cattle-based infection.

However, some believe that this method is not only ineffective, but also unnecessarily barbaric and cruel. They are called Against the Cull, with their aim being to protect badgers across the country.

Bovine tuberculosis is a massive problem for Britain’s agricultural industry. It costs the taxpayer an approximate £40 million per year, but Against the Cull argue this amount can be reduced without the need to exterminate badgers.

Who are Derbyshire Against the Cull and what do they aim to achieve?

Who are Derbyshire Against the Cull?

Derbyshire Against the Cull is the Derbyshire branch of the unofficial badger protection group, Against the Cull.

The overarching campaign group, along with a few others, has been active since 2013, when the government began piloting its scheme to reduce the badger population in Britain.

As mentioned, they heavily disagree with the government’s methods in attempting to control bovine tuberculosis. Against the Cull state that simply killing badgers does little to prevent it spreading.

Furthermore, the ways in which badgers are killed is often inhumane and causes them unnecessary suffering. On occasion, hunters will kill badgers by “free shooting” which involves shooting one in an open field without trapping it first. This can lead to an inaccurate shot, which will, in turn, cause the badger to suffer a more painful death.

However, it has been proven that badgers can indeed carry bovine tuberculosis and that they do spread it to cattle. Despite this, Against the Cull argue that the number of bovine tuberculosis infections in cattle that can be directly linked to badgers is far lower than previously believed.

They feel the primary cause of its spread is the way farmers handle their cattle when producing milk – not the badgers. Instead of having them killed, they propose a much more humane idea – vaccinate the badgers against the infection.

What do they seek to achieve?

Derbyshire Against the Cull primarily seek to protect the badgers in their county by peaceful methods only. They disrupt hunts, allowing badgers to escape capture and extermination, similar to the saboteurs.

They fully acknowledge that bovine tuberculosis is a huge problem for not just farmers, but the country’s economy as a whole. Against the Cull accept that action must be taken, but see badgers as an unfortunate scapegoat, rather than a solution to the issue.

While vaccinating every badger across Britain would be a tough task, more so than simply exterminating them, it would also help preserve the native wildlife that this country has.

Badgers play a key role in natural ecosystem of Britain. They eat pests such as slugs and earthworms, whilst cleaning up things like carrion and berries that are inedible to humans.