Badgers are facing a widespread slaughtering in Wales, after being wrongly accused of spreading TB amongst cattle.
As Viva! and other animal rights organisations are pointing out, the real culprit is the very industry that is crying out 'victim' - the dairy industry. Experts are telling Defra that the cull is a waste of time and a waste of lives, but misleading tests continue to be carried out as more and more cows are killed because of infection (or threat of infection). Next on the list is badgers - how many animals must die? One-third of TB tests are inaccurate, allowing disease carriers to reinfect their herd or to be transported around the UK, infecting new herds.
Viva! are organising a campaign against the proposed badger cull, which is planned to trial later this year. Read more about their upcoming national rally at www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/badgers and see here how in one herd 80 cows were slaughtered over claims they had bovine tuberculosis - of which only FIVE turned out to have the disease.