Resources

Viva!LIFE magazine Campaign Materials Viva! Guides Viva! Books Online Art for Animals Getting the Message Across Guide to Making a Will Viva! web banners Veggie Love & Sex

Media

Media Releases Photo Gallery Video Library Podcasts Watch "Planeat"

Youth

Viva! Activists

Shop

Merchandise Books Campaign Materials Wine Club

Recipes & Eating Out

Veggie Recipes (100% animal free) Places to Stay, Eat & Shop Travel Guides Discount Scheme Vegan Travel Tips

Get Active!

Be a Door Dropper Be a School Speaker Classified ads Events Report animal abuse Viva! Local Contacts List Links Veggie Roadshow Volunteer for Viva! What You Can Do

JOIN Viva! DONATE

Spread the word:

Home > Campaigns > Badgers > Biosecurity

Viva! biosecurity investigation

We uncover what could be the real reason for the TB epidemic – and it’s not badgers!

Biosecurity measures (disinfectant foot dip) were ignored

We have long suspected that Biosecurity failings at markets plays a much bigger role in spreading the disease than contact with wildlife. Biosecurity measures are put in place to minimise the risk of spreading disease on clothing and foot wear.

In March/April 2011, we filmed at three markets in and around the Intensive Action Area in Wales (where the killing of badgers will take place).

Welsh markets

As part of the investigation we uncovered the following:

Carmarthen market
At Carmarthen market 97 per cent of people attending ignored a biosecurity measure (disinfectant foot dip) (only 7 out of 277 dipped their feet even though this goes against official advice and may even be breaking the law as they all entered areas that housed animals)
Whitland Market
At Whitland Market there was no biosecurity measures in place as animals were unloaded, even though it was a TB/Red Market where TB infected animals are traded for slaughter
Whitland Market
At the same market we speak to an Animal Health Official who admits she was left “seething” after observing serious biosecurity infringements (where tested and untested animals were allowed to mix extensively against guidelines)
Cardigan Market
At Cardigan Market (which is inside the Intensive Action Area) we did not observe a single person dipping their feet (bar our investigator) – and we spoke to a man who admitted that sheep tag swapping is widespread (cattle tag swapping to keep high yield infected cattle is under investigation in England)

Our investigations in England have started to reveal a similar picture there.

Watch the investigation yourself and then decide: are badgers really to blame for TB or are they scapegoats? We thinking the answer is pretty obvious!

Take action

Celebrity quotes

TV wildlife presenter and Viva! patron Wendy Turner-Webster

"The culling of badgers is absolutely obscene. The largest ever study found that it would make things things worse not better, yet they still push ahead towards the meaningless destruction of our wildlife. Please help Viva! stop this madness by ending the cull and helping people give up the very things that are at the root of it: meat and dairy."

Jenny Seagrove

“Now farmers will realise the strength of the science and will recognise that culling has no part to play. They should now objectively, alongside government, consider the cattle control elements that we all know are absolutely essential as outlined in our report.”

Professor John Bourne, chairman of the Independent Scientific Group

"Culling badgers is historically known to be totally ineffective in stopping bovine TB. Northern Ireland has proved that the most effective procedures are strict cattle controls and no culling. We should all follow their lead- It works!"

Joanna Lumley

“We must not make badgers scapegoats for bovine TB”.

Jenny Seagrove

Twiggy

“How can we condemn a protected species to death when the reasons for doing so have been discredited by valid scientific evidence? Badger culling is utterly barbaric and pointless. Please support Viva! in their fight to stop this needless massacre of our precious wildlife.”

Benjamin Zephaniah

“Deep down anyone with common sense knows that killing animals is wrong, but what makes the idea of culling badgers even more sinister is that it’s being done in order to cover up bad farming practices and lazy testing methods. I don’t want to stand by knowing that these great creatures are suffering and being killed, but I also don’t want to see a time in the future when we look back and wonder how we let another group of our animals disappeared from our country.

I say no to this or any other badger cull and I urge all caring people to do the same. Get rid of ignorance, not badgers.”

Rose Elliot

“I totally support Viva! in their campaign to stop the badger cull which is both obscene and unnecessary since top scientists say it will only make the spread of TB in cattle worse.”