It was only a matter of time before the hilarious antics of Jeremy Clarkson, while trying out new toys on 'Clarkson's Farm', came head to head with badgers, and in particular their arch protectors, the Badger Trust.
And sure enough in this week's Agriland press the Trust are in full spate. Amongst the adjectives are 'offensive diatribe' which the trust ascribes to Mr. Clarkson. But the mention of 'senseless slaughter' and their bold description of Bovine TB as a cattle based disease, does the Trust no favours; it is infantile and inaccurate prattling.
Neither does their total denial, despite all the evidence since the 1970s of the complete reverse, (much of it recorded on this site) that in the UK, badgers are a primary reservoir of this zoonotic disease feeding back into our tested sentinel cattle.
The letter maintains:
"Badger Trust, as the voice for badgers in England and Wales, is pushing back at yet another attempt to make badgers the scapegoats for bovine TB, even though 94% of cattle infections are from cow to cow.
You blame badgers for the spread of ‘TB’ (it’s bTB – bovine tuberculosis, a respiratory disease mainly affecting cattle),” the letter added.
This infantile, and wholly inaccurate response will no doubt rattle a few Trust collecting tins. But it won't stop the reality of infected and infectious tuberculous badgers, upspilling this disease into any mammal that has the misfortune to cross their path.
And it won't stop them dying a prolonged and miserable death from tuberculosis, long after they've infected their cubs and other mammals. The Badger Trust, holding hands with the RSPCA describe this process as ' a slight wheeziness'. The reality is the animal they say they want to protect', is drowning in its own infected body fluids, and slowly starving, as the emaciated carcase below shows.
This site has been explaining, very patiently, the history of the eradication of zoonotic tuberculosis in the UK, and other countries, for almost two decades. The 500 parliamentary questions which support it give many answers which may upset the Badger Trust, but which nevertheless are a window of truth into some very delving questions. Read and understand please, before committing your ignorance to paper.
Until then would this infantile prattle has no credibility.
Meanwhile, someone needs a reality check, and that is not Jeremy Clarkson.
