Enough is enough.

For some time now, we have been considering the time and effort which all of us put into this site.
It was built on the 500 Parliamentary Questions on bTB, badgers, badger welfare, bTB transmission and general epidemiology which were lobbed by our co-editor at the then Minister, Ben Bradshaw, in 2003/4. We wanted to collect as much information on our own experiences with herd restrictions, on TB transmission opportunities and on other country's efforts to clear this disease.

Support has come from a number of sources including farmers, veterinary professionals, scientists and wildlife operatives. We all had a single aim: that of healthy cattle and healthy badgers.

But over these six years, things have moved on and now alpaca owners are wringing their hands as 'environmental' TB rips through their herds. Similarly pig owners face TB restrictions which have no legal exit route except the skin test, which is not an option for many. Cats, dogs, bison, sheep, goats and deer have all made headlines which we have conveyed to you. While Defra have been noticeable by their absence in support for the true level of other species 'over spill'

Did we say bTB was a beneficial crisis? You bet we did.

In mid February, while a couple of us were busy preparing cattle for sale,(having dutifully pre movement tested them) a site comment late on Friday night had us reeling. No, not a scumbag dealer switching eartags, but one of the most high profile pedigree breeders in the country, drives a coach and horses through everything we have been trying to achieve over the last decade. No matter that none of this site's contributors have shifted restricted cattle, bounced them between holdings or presented unidentified cattle of unknown parentage for veterinary inspection. We're all tarred with the same brush, the damage is huge and the reaction, brutal.

Needless to say, the Badger Trust lumps us all together though.

And tonight another comment has found its way to our inbox. This describes how a Shropshire veterinary surgeon has been found guilty of not discharging his duty in respect of a TB test on a restricted farm.

No matter that we have yet to find our own vets wanting in this respect, and no matter that it is not the norm. Reports like this are seriously bad for our industry - and music to the ears of all those who do not want to face the fact that TB is endemic in badgers, and that over population has now exploded that disease into other mammals.

So, on balance, we have achieved nothing. And we have decided that enough is enough.


We will leave you with a link to a Farming Forum where a very dedicated and upset farmer is about to consign this lovely, healthy cow to the Defra killing machine.

By the time most of you read this, she will be dead.