Wonders why

…is it so crucial that bovine TB is eradicated? You might well ask. The true answer is that, health-wise for humans, it is not important at all. It’s all about money. The farming laws of Europe dictate that if any herd has had an infected cow in it, the herd cannot be sold in Europe. So farmers are up in arms because the value of their herd is at a stroke slashed as soon as there is a confirmed “breakdown”. But there is more. Farming is one of the most heavily subsidised industries in Britain. Even if the whole herd has to be slaughtered (which is rare), the farmer is compensated for all loss of income. So, again, why the fuss? As far as I can see, it’s about the government being able to show a profit from farming: it looks bad if it’s subsidising losses all the time. This is a key bit of emotive propaganda that is used to justify culling the poor old badgers. “The government is spending all this money – it can’t be allowed to go on …”