A Correction is needed.

Not from us, but one is most certainly due from the Badger Trust and 'Dr.' Brian May's Team Badger.
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We pointed out in January, the outrageous spin which both groups had put on a totally incomparable set of figures. If you remember, they had compared the full twelve months of 2008 with just seven (January to July) of 2012 and announced a big fall in cattle TB. As in 44 percent. Obviously the result of all those extra cattle restrictions.

Following our posting, this statement downright lie was repeated, on the Badger Trust's site where they say:

"the bTB toll on farm businesses has been declining steadily over the last five years. There has been a 39 per cent fall in new herd incidents since 2008 - from 5,007 to 3,018. Over the same period the number of individual cattle slaughtered was reduced by 44 per cent – from 39,015 to 21,512."

The same lie appears on Dr. Brian May's Team Badger site. It is to be hoped that when out star gazing, Dr. May gets his light years a tad more accurate than this obfuscation bilge.

So what was the final 2012 vintage for Defra's cattle slaughterings, on the altar of Badgerist worship?

The full twelve months, published this week show an almost 10 per cent rise on 2011 and a very slight fall on 2008, which was one the highest on record. The number of cattle compulsorily and prematurely slaughtered is not 21,512 as quoted by the Trust and Team Badger. It is 38,010, a figure which may be subject to change, Defra explain.

Defra's tally of prematurely slaughtered cattle over the last five years is 183,452.

We can't tell you the percentage of herds under restriction, or compare them to previous years at the moment. SAM (Defra's new toy computer) has 'issues'.

 He's not the only one with issues. We have too. Especially with Badger Trust maths.