Lets hope this is the beginning of the end of this shameful episode. Well done to all involved, Protect the Wild, Betty Badger and Brian May and the Gatcombe farm team to name but a few in dragging this kicking and screaming into the public domain.
What a brilliant piece -- absolutely spot on. It couldn't be more obvious that it's the exploitation of cattle for meat and dairy that is to blame (notably, the reference to intensification isn't rocket science), yet the Government still sits on the wrong side of the fence so as not to upset the NFU. Thank you Rob for facilitating the debate which, shamefully, wouldn't have taken place without your petition. The fight is still on.
It still brings tears to my old eyes, the "murder" of "OUR" badgers and other wildlife, why is it, the "killers", do not see what they are doing, I live in and around fields and farmland and have noticed the total decline, especially of certain birds,yes I know that bird flu etc has killed many, but other than blackbird and robin I have not heard other songbirds for many years, the "skylarks" use to sing in the sky, next to my bungalow, now none for years, I know the birds are "killed/murdered" before they arrive on our shores, by "MORONS" and "masses" of "crop growing farmers green field sites" you know them "green field sites" that were not going to be built on, now have houses built on them here in NORFOLK, "MADNESS", getting back to badgers/wildlife, don't we think "ROB" and all the others, are doing a great job, the sabs/monitors and supporters, we need them badly, to continue their brilliant job, we "ANIMAL/WILD ANIMAL" lovers must "KEEP SPREADING THE WORD", "SAVE OUR WILDLIFE", "I got through that without a swearword".
With respect to the source of Bv TB, vehicles and routes of cross contamination I have some questions as someone who worked as a Food Safety Officer and in a local government infectious disease team.
When working on cases of food poisoning and infectious enteric disease, one of the key jobs was to find the source of faecal contamination for the pathogen concerned, cross contamination, the vehicles and routes of infection, and contacts.
As we know, over a million bacteria can fit onto the head of a pin and microscopic quantities of faecal contamination from animals and/or humans can lead to a disease outbreak.
On dairy farms the level of gross faecal contamination is 'off the scale'. Individual animals and generations of animals are confined, highly stressed, and live under the same roof and patch of land for most, or all their lives. There are so many routes of direct and indirect contamination for pathogens to get around to infect, and to reinfect, the animals. When it comes to movements of livestock and transportation, the rules are not always followed and we also have the gross contamination of fields (muck spreading), of watercourses, of vehicles and of roads.
There is also the issue of farmers transporting soil to different locations (unrecorded and without permissions). As we know, visiting bulls to dairy farms are also a potential disease risk and all animal transportation and movements obviously carry high risk of cross contamination and infection.
Here are a few questions I would love to know the answer to specific to dairy cows:
The frequency of defecation for Dairy cow is high and their faeces is constantly of 'liquid' consistency, unlike other ruminants. This results in widespread faecal contamination across the local environment.
I am not aware of any other animal, wild or domesticated that suffers from constant 'diarrhoea' under 'normal' circumstances. Diarrhoea is a recipe for spreading pathogens/disease.
My main question is, for the Dairy Cow, why does she suffer from constant diarrhoea?
Is this 'constant diarrhoea' a symptom of chronic physical and/or emotional stress and/or the diet of dairy cows?
It would be interesting to know why Dairy cows suffer from constant diarrhoea and if some, or all, of the following could be causes of this condition:
The release of stress hormones and the impact of this on the digestive tract. High stress levels (the life of the commercial dairy cow is physically stressful and emotionally stressful e.g. from ages of 1 to 5 years caught in a cycle of 9 months of pregnancy, giving birth and having her calf removed).
The physical stress on her body of being constantly pregnant and milked.
The psychological/emotional stress of having her calf taken away.
The psychological stress of observing other cows having their calves removed and other cows being taken away.
From birth, being confined without her mother and fed a diet of reconstituted milk followed by cattle feed and/or silage after weaning.
Living in unnatural conditions and unable to practice natural behaviours e.g. caring for their calves, creating social bonds within a natural herd made up of animals of different ages.
Freedom to move around of her own accord, to walk on a ‘safe’ surface without slipping, to rest in a comfortable environment with natural light and ventilation.
Dairy cows are genetically engineered to be short-lived 'milk machines' at the expense of physical health
Dairy cows are constantly fed a very rich diet because of the physical demands upon their body (constantly pregnant and made to produce unnaturally high volumes of milk)
The immune system of dairy cows is compromised due to high loads of pathogens in their environment, physical stress and repeated experiences of emotional distress.
Are there other microorganisms commonly infecting Dairy Cows which cause symptoms of constant diarrhoea?
As far as I am aware there are other pathogens that infect cattle where 'healthy' cattle act as a reservoir. For example, Shiga toxin producing E coli 0157 sits at the end of the colon in cattle and is excreted sporadically in high numbers. At any one point in time, around 5% of cattle carry this pathogen.
If Bovine TB bacteria is excreted in faeces, is this sporadically excreted, or is it constantly excreted in an infected cow?
What is the risk of dairy cow calves spreading Bovine TB? (as thousands are killed on farm and thousands are transported through markets to slaughter, or for ‘finishing’ for veal).
The life of a Dairy cow is brutal. The industry is based upon fundamental cruelty and total exploitation of this animal. I am not surprised that this sector of farming is using Badgers as a scapegoat for the ills of this industry.
One industry being supported and subsidised by the UK Government to: wipe out a wild species, to abuse millions of farmed animals; to significantly contribute to climate change, soil and water pollution; to destroy biodiversity; to contribute to obesity and heart disease; and to persuade people to feed their infants cow milk formula rather than human breast milk(‘Breast is Best’); for profit.
There is absolutely nothing good about the dairy industry.
I really hope this is a death sentence on this dreadful cull it has been a shameful episode in the UK decimating and vilifying the poor badger with no proper scientific evidence it's going to take years and years for the badger population to recover, and it's also shameful that's something that was promised before the last election has taken such a huge amount of public pressure to move forward, protect the wild should be proud of this achievement and I'm sure we will all watch to see that this repugnant cull is actually stopped
So true! It is good to see that many are against this although it is greatly disappointing and downright shameful that a so called "vet" (aren't "vets" meant to help animals, not encouraging murdering them?) and the "minister" at the end still refuse to stop the last remaining "licence" now!! A point I wish was covered was the fact that, as I have said before, Scotland has cows and badgers and they are TB free yet they don't "cull" badgers, so why is it any different for England and Wales? Thank you so much Protect the Wild, Brian May and to everyone who signed the petition and spread the word about this 👍👏✊❤️💖💖!! I just sincerely that this will end for good, sooner rather than later 🤞! It is abhorrently barbaric, scientifically flawed and completely uneccessary!!
Alas British wildlife pays the price for just about everything this wretched government is doing. They are (and continue to) throw our dwindling wildlife under a bus. The cull has been proven NOT to work as the biggest spreaders of TB is HUMANS, the farmers themselves, should we start and cull them?????
ONCE AGAIN JUST WORDS, WE NEED ACTION AND NOW, NOT DELAYING TACTICS WHICH MEANS PEOPLE WILL FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS AND FORGET WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITH THE DEBATE.
Lets hope this is the beginning of the end of this shameful episode. Well done to all involved, Protect the Wild, Betty Badger and Brian May and the Gatcombe farm team to name but a few in dragging this kicking and screaming into the public domain.
Fantastic news. At last, the end might be in sight. Well done to everyone, including Rob and the team.
What a brilliant piece -- absolutely spot on. It couldn't be more obvious that it's the exploitation of cattle for meat and dairy that is to blame (notably, the reference to intensification isn't rocket science), yet the Government still sits on the wrong side of the fence so as not to upset the NFU. Thank you Rob for facilitating the debate which, shamefully, wouldn't have taken place without your petition. The fight is still on.
It still brings tears to my old eyes, the "murder" of "OUR" badgers and other wildlife, why is it, the "killers", do not see what they are doing, I live in and around fields and farmland and have noticed the total decline, especially of certain birds,yes I know that bird flu etc has killed many, but other than blackbird and robin I have not heard other songbirds for many years, the "skylarks" use to sing in the sky, next to my bungalow, now none for years, I know the birds are "killed/murdered" before they arrive on our shores, by "MORONS" and "masses" of "crop growing farmers green field sites" you know them "green field sites" that were not going to be built on, now have houses built on them here in NORFOLK, "MADNESS", getting back to badgers/wildlife, don't we think "ROB" and all the others, are doing a great job, the sabs/monitors and supporters, we need them badly, to continue their brilliant job, we "ANIMAL/WILD ANIMAL" lovers must "KEEP SPREADING THE WORD", "SAVE OUR WILDLIFE", "I got through that without a swearword".
Thank you.
With respect to the source of Bv TB, vehicles and routes of cross contamination I have some questions as someone who worked as a Food Safety Officer and in a local government infectious disease team.
When working on cases of food poisoning and infectious enteric disease, one of the key jobs was to find the source of faecal contamination for the pathogen concerned, cross contamination, the vehicles and routes of infection, and contacts.
As we know, over a million bacteria can fit onto the head of a pin and microscopic quantities of faecal contamination from animals and/or humans can lead to a disease outbreak.
On dairy farms the level of gross faecal contamination is 'off the scale'. Individual animals and generations of animals are confined, highly stressed, and live under the same roof and patch of land for most, or all their lives. There are so many routes of direct and indirect contamination for pathogens to get around to infect, and to reinfect, the animals. When it comes to movements of livestock and transportation, the rules are not always followed and we also have the gross contamination of fields (muck spreading), of watercourses, of vehicles and of roads.
There is also the issue of farmers transporting soil to different locations (unrecorded and without permissions). As we know, visiting bulls to dairy farms are also a potential disease risk and all animal transportation and movements obviously carry high risk of cross contamination and infection.
Here are a few questions I would love to know the answer to specific to dairy cows:
The frequency of defecation for Dairy cow is high and their faeces is constantly of 'liquid' consistency, unlike other ruminants. This results in widespread faecal contamination across the local environment.
I am not aware of any other animal, wild or domesticated that suffers from constant 'diarrhoea' under 'normal' circumstances. Diarrhoea is a recipe for spreading pathogens/disease.
My main question is, for the Dairy Cow, why does she suffer from constant diarrhoea?
Is this 'constant diarrhoea' a symptom of chronic physical and/or emotional stress and/or the diet of dairy cows?
It would be interesting to know why Dairy cows suffer from constant diarrhoea and if some, or all, of the following could be causes of this condition:
The release of stress hormones and the impact of this on the digestive tract. High stress levels (the life of the commercial dairy cow is physically stressful and emotionally stressful e.g. from ages of 1 to 5 years caught in a cycle of 9 months of pregnancy, giving birth and having her calf removed).
The physical stress on her body of being constantly pregnant and milked.
The psychological/emotional stress of having her calf taken away.
The psychological stress of observing other cows having their calves removed and other cows being taken away.
From birth, being confined without her mother and fed a diet of reconstituted milk followed by cattle feed and/or silage after weaning.
Living in unnatural conditions and unable to practice natural behaviours e.g. caring for their calves, creating social bonds within a natural herd made up of animals of different ages.
Freedom to move around of her own accord, to walk on a ‘safe’ surface without slipping, to rest in a comfortable environment with natural light and ventilation.
Dairy cows are genetically engineered to be short-lived 'milk machines' at the expense of physical health
Dairy cows are constantly fed a very rich diet because of the physical demands upon their body (constantly pregnant and made to produce unnaturally high volumes of milk)
The immune system of dairy cows is compromised due to high loads of pathogens in their environment, physical stress and repeated experiences of emotional distress.
Are there other microorganisms commonly infecting Dairy Cows which cause symptoms of constant diarrhoea?
As far as I am aware there are other pathogens that infect cattle where 'healthy' cattle act as a reservoir. For example, Shiga toxin producing E coli 0157 sits at the end of the colon in cattle and is excreted sporadically in high numbers. At any one point in time, around 5% of cattle carry this pathogen.
If Bovine TB bacteria is excreted in faeces, is this sporadically excreted, or is it constantly excreted in an infected cow?
What is the risk of dairy cow calves spreading Bovine TB? (as thousands are killed on farm and thousands are transported through markets to slaughter, or for ‘finishing’ for veal).
The life of a Dairy cow is brutal. The industry is based upon fundamental cruelty and total exploitation of this animal. I am not surprised that this sector of farming is using Badgers as a scapegoat for the ills of this industry.
One industry being supported and subsidised by the UK Government to: wipe out a wild species, to abuse millions of farmed animals; to significantly contribute to climate change, soil and water pollution; to destroy biodiversity; to contribute to obesity and heart disease; and to persuade people to feed their infants cow milk formula rather than human breast milk(‘Breast is Best’); for profit.
There is absolutely nothing good about the dairy industry.
You are amazing. Thank you so much x
I really hope this is a death sentence on this dreadful cull it has been a shameful episode in the UK decimating and vilifying the poor badger with no proper scientific evidence it's going to take years and years for the badger population to recover, and it's also shameful that's something that was promised before the last election has taken such a huge amount of public pressure to move forward, protect the wild should be proud of this achievement and I'm sure we will all watch to see that this repugnant cull is actually stopped
So true! It is good to see that many are against this although it is greatly disappointing and downright shameful that a so called "vet" (aren't "vets" meant to help animals, not encouraging murdering them?) and the "minister" at the end still refuse to stop the last remaining "licence" now!! A point I wish was covered was the fact that, as I have said before, Scotland has cows and badgers and they are TB free yet they don't "cull" badgers, so why is it any different for England and Wales? Thank you so much Protect the Wild, Brian May and to everyone who signed the petition and spread the word about this 👍👏✊❤️💖💖!! I just sincerely that this will end for good, sooner rather than later 🤞! It is abhorrently barbaric, scientifically flawed and completely uneccessary!!
Alas British wildlife pays the price for just about everything this wretched government is doing. They are (and continue to) throw our dwindling wildlife under a bus. The cull has been proven NOT to work as the biggest spreaders of TB is HUMANS, the farmers themselves, should we start and cull them?????
ONCE AGAIN JUST WORDS, WE NEED ACTION AND NOW, NOT DELAYING TACTICS WHICH MEANS PEOPLE WILL FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS AND FORGET WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITH THE DEBATE.
Let's be honest and admit there's only one way to fix this problem...shoot the bloody farmers!