Badger Cull Fueled by Dairy Industry

Officials recently expanded the cull of badgers to new areas in London citing the animals pose a threat to the dairy industry because they carry tuberculosis. “Reports have showed that of the small percentage of badgers that have TB,” writer Elena Orde of local news outlet The London Economic says, “a smaller percentage still are able to transmit it to cattle.” Orde explains that despite scientific facts that deem the cull unnecessary, the slaughter of badgers is “driven by pressure on government by dairy producers based on consumer demand for their products.” Badgers are killed by free-shooting which often leaves them to die a painful, drawn-out death. “The only logical response is to stop supporting the dairy industry, which profits from animal suffering and is devastating our wildlife,” Orde concludes. The culling of wildlife to protect the interests of the meat and dairy industry is routine worldwide. Both Norway and Washington State recently authorized the cull of wolves to protect the sheep and cows kept by farmers from predation.