Badger culling tarnishes Ireland

Ireland today operates in a highly competitive global market for agricultural produce and we cannot afford to be at any disadvantage. Yet we are one of the few countries to widely cull badgers.

Thankfully, there has been a drop in the incidence of bovine TB in the Republic of Ireland. However, there has also been a greater drop in the rate of bovine TB in Northern Ireland, where they have used improved farming measures, and not a single badger has been killed. This suggests that farming measures, which are also used in Ireland, have reduced the disease.

In terms of culling badgers, we are out of step with our neighbours, who are also our competitors