"Just months after a badger cull was ruled out in England because it could not "meaningfully contribute" to eradicating the disease on farms, the government is now encouraging landowners and deer stalkers to kill more animals which its scientific advisers say are likely to pose a lower TB risk to cattle in most of south-west England and Wales.

However, the same team from the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) near York has also told ministers that reducing large herds with infected fallow deer "may play a role in reducing overall risks posed to cattle in several localities within south-west England."

The measure is likely to be less controversial than taking similar steps with badgers — the Welsh Assembly is pressing ahead with plans for a pilot badger cull — and also has the advantage for ministers that deer culling and hunting is already routine as the UK population is hurtling towards 2 million, with Britain having more wild deer than at any time since the ice age."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/26/conservation-wildlife

Dave,

Typical Journo, runs a search on the archive and finds a picture of a 12-14 point Red stag to put at the top of the deer story on Fallow!!

They couldn't put a photo of all the scabby spikers running about could they!!
FB

No matter how low you set the bar for the Guardian, they seem to duck under it.

Nevetheless, the CSL advice is worrying.

quote:

Nevetheless, the CSL advice is worrying.

"But the ministry later denied this amounted to recommending a deer cull to curb cattle TB."

I think you'll find the CSL advice comes which a large chunk of journalistic license. The ministry won't even act regarding the LACS Baronsdown deer sanctuary Btb problem despite the RVC and BDs vets reports.

In the defra statement the csl offer the tacit statement that deer do not pose anything like the threat of tb that badgers do. I rather think that in these tougher economic times there may shortly be an English u-turn or at least a 3 point turn over the badgers protection. The bovine tb is escalating, the only way the gov. can begin to divorce themselves from the compensation burden is to allow extensive badger culling in hotspot areas such as all SW peninsula.