Right decision (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Right decision

9:14am Wednesday 6th August 2008 in Your View

IT is highly ironic that Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff is criticising Hilary Benn's decision not to cull' badgers in England as "cowardly" (Advertiser/Messenger), when he, like many other MPs, is seemingly too scared to go against farmers and their wrong-headed approach to controlling bovine TB.

Benn's decision was not only a courageous one, it was the right one. It is a victory for both common sense and science.

In their eagerness to blame anyone but themselves for the TB epidemic, farmers are targeting wildlife when they should be looking closer to home.

The bottom line is that it is the intensification of farming practices and the huge increase in cattle movements that are the reasons for the spread of this disease.

Around 14 million cattle are moved across the UK each year - this number has quadrupled since 1999.

The best way to protect both cattle and badgers is to remove yourself from the meat and dairy chain entirely - and the best way to do that is to go vegan.

Justin Kerswell, Campaigns manager, Viva!, Bristol