Badger culls ineffective SIR, I must protest at the misleading, scaremongering and scientifically imprecise article in the Farming Section of the recent Beacon. The 10-year randomised badger control trial mentioned, undertaken by Professor John Krebs, clearly demonstrated that culling of badgers could lead to a reduction in bovine TB by only 12 to 16 per cent. For this meagre reduction it was essential that 70 per cent of badgers in an area were culled. More or less than this number could lead to increases in bTB cases as badger groups are dispersed (known as perturbation effects). The Welsh Government bravely accepted this thorough scientific study and implemented a detailed plan to address the other contributory issues. The inconvenient truth is that farmers and their practices are the major reason for the spreading of bTB and through implementation of the rigid controls on farmers and improved bio-security, directed by the Welsh Government, they have reduced the number of cattle being destroyed in Wales by a massive 48 per cent over the last four years, without a single badger being killed. The UK government is now recognising that effective controls combined with badger vaccination is the way forward. DEFRA Minister George Eustace stated on 24th June 2014 that badger vaccination is a valuable tool in reducing the spread of TB in badgers (based upon DEFRA's own research) and as such should be more widely used. Bovine TB is a serious disease but the scientific evidence is now unambiguously available to provide routes to reduce the level of cattle being slaughtered. Emotional scare stories are unhelpful in addressing such a serious issue. Keith Roy (Whitebrook)