Now the bunny huggers mightn’t like this but our burgeoning badger population is a reservoir of bovine tuberculosis. No doubt. Whilst the badgers do enjoy excellent PR, it would appear that the government’s chief scientist Sir David King has finally accepted fact & thinks its time to start the cull

Together with five well-respected experts, I have assessed the ISG report and other research relating to badgers and TB in cattle. It is clear that badgers are a continuing source of infection for cattle and could account for 40% of cattle breakdowns in some areas. Cattle controls remain essential but I consider that, in certain circumstances and under strict conditions, badger removal can reduce the overall incidence of TB in cattle.

What the same bunny huggers whose rabid howling will certainly drown out the crrrackthhhump of gunfire, conveniently forget how much damage that badgers do to other wildlife. So those of us that have a view of the countryside that is formed by what we actually see & not the latest BBC2 anthropomorphist pseudo-nature programme load of twaddle might just have been right all along.

In any case, if you have ever sat out waiting for the red dogs to appear as the light starts to fail & seen a clan of badgers fan out to hoover a field, you will understand why ground nesting wild bird numbers are under such threat. Sadly, although threatened, said birds for some reason don’t seem to enjoy the same level of public support as brock does. Still, at night & at say +150 yrds over winter plough, old stripey will present a curiously sporting shot