http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/articles.php?category_id=3 <br> http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=118 Something for the youngsters - promoting the joy of wildlife, and in particular badgers. http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=120 The badger is the scapegoat. Peter Smith, Wildwood Trust's Chief Executive (and a scientist) talks about badgers and the British Farming Industry. http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=121 TB Free England. Unbiased information about bovine TB, its causes and methods of control. This is a totally independent site and nothing to do with the NFU which also has a website with a similar name. http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=128 In January 2013 another person lost his life (an Irish farmer was killed in 2010) whilst involved in bTB testing his herd. He was crushed by a bull. bTB testing is more frequent. Many involved sustain injuries. Cattle too are killed or injured in the process. The Health and Safety Executive is investigating alongside Dyfed-Powys Police Is the existing policy now having more of an adverse impact on human and cattle welfare than the risks from the disease it is aiming to control/eradicate? http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=129 This report (The Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in Northern Ireland) by the Northern Ireland Audit Office reveal just how unreliable the skin test can be and also refers to fraud. Bovine TB testing procedures (Part 2 of the Report) • the limitations of the Bovine TB Skin Test in detecting infected animals • the cost of testing carried out by Private Veterinary Practitioners (PVPs) • the quality of work being carried out by a number of PVPs • Departmental supervision of PVP testing • disciplinary action against PVPs who breach procedures http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=130 Interesting news, research, poliitical views and comments relating to bovine TB from Dr Gordon McGlone. http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=132 Badgergate is the result of a not-for profit collaboration between Amanda Barrett and Sultana Bashir. Amanda has made wildlife documentaries in many countries for both UK and international audiences. Sultana is a wildlife biologist by training who works internationally on environment and development. Amanda and Sultan are part of an independent team drawn together by the realisation that culling badgers as a measure to control bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is both risky and misguided. They are following the bTB saga closely and are profoundly concerned that politics is driving current policy rather than the best available evidence from science, economics and other relevant disciplines. http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=133 Articles by farmers against the UK badger cull http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=135 The cattle which had tested positive for TB but the farmer, Timothy Juckes, refused to believe the cows had the disease. He sent four cows without the disease to the slaughterhouse instead of the infected animals, Gloucester Crown Court heard on 28th June 2013. He then took compensation from Defra for the livestock, which should have been destroyed. The court heard Juckes was not motivated by greed to commit the crime, but by his previous experiences of losing cattle because of the TB regulations of Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Juckes was ordered to pay back £5,398 in compensation to the government department. He was also told to pay back the £12,592 he made from continuing to milk the infected heifers and sell their produce. The 36-year-old was also fined £14,000 and ordered to pay £20,000 in costs after he was prosecuted by Gloucestershire's Trading Standards department for 10 counts of fraud in connection with selling the milk. Judge Hart said it was an expensive lesson for the farmer whose reputation had also suffered as a result of his actions. The court heard no public or animal health offences were committed. Three cows were found to have the disease in October 15, 2010, and another the following month. http://www.bovinetb.co.uk/article.php?article_id=138 Mother and daughter Kathleen Wallis, 61, and Sarah Wallis, 23, of Appleton Farm, at Wick St Lawrence, near Weston-super-Mare, admitted 18 counts of providing false information as to the location of a number of their cattle when they appeared before Bristol Crown Court. The farmers admitted to failing to adhere to cattle disease control laws and were branded "ignorant, rotten and cruel" by a judge.