Anti-badger fiction from Clarkson’s Farm must be met with the facts

Badger Trust refutes claims made as outlandish, ill-informed and dangerous.

In response to the various claims and statements in the TV series Clarkson’s Farm, Badger Trust feels it is necessary to outline some of the facts to counteract the characterisation of badgers portrayed in the programme. It is a shocking portrayal, and the claims made are outrageous and in some cases dangerous.

Clarkson’s Farm, released by Amazon Prime on 10th February, includes an episode (episode 4) which is one long vilification of badgers. Jeremy Clarkson, in the programme, repeatedly suggests that badgers should be illegally shot, gassed, run over, or even “hit over the head with a hammer”.

Unfortunately, this episode is part of a long tradition of demonising badgers in this country.

The episode, which focuses on Clarkson’s attempts to protect his new cattle herd from bovine tuberculosis, is directed in a way that portrays badgers as disease-ridden, unfairly protected, and the nemesis of cattle and cattle farmers. Cartoon images falsely portray badgers surrounding the herd from every angle, and one of Jeremy Clarkson’s farming advisors explains that the badgers cannot be culled like other wildlife. The misguided advisor then goes on to falsely explain that the badger's protected status is unnecessary, claiming it was introduced in the 1980s to protect badgers from badger baiting, an activity that is “not a problem anymore”.

The Facts on Bovine TB

The effect of bovine TB outbreaks on herds and farmers is awful, but don't blame badgers.

Cows are the primary spreaders of bovine tuberculosis in England, not badgers. It’s an infectious respiratory disease – over 94% of cattle infections are cow-to-cow. So the biggest risk factors for any cattle herd are cow-related – poor biosecurity, including poorly regulated cattle movement, and outdated, unreliable cattle testing. Yet it’s easier to scapegoat badgers.

The government has slaughtered 200,000 badgers in England since 2012 – around half of Britain's estimated badger population. Yet there has been little effect on the disease because science consistently shows that badgers are not the problem. Scotland and Wales don't cull badgers and have better results dealing with the disease!

The simple fact is the badger cull needs to end now.

The Facts on Badger Baiting and Badger Persecution

The programme’s wildly inaccurate comments about badger baiting don't help an animal that has been persecuted for hundreds of years. In fact, its blasé attitude towards the badger’s protected status could add fuel to the fire of widespread badger persecution.

Badgers are the most persecuted of all wildlife species. Crimes against badgers, including badger baiting (where dogs are set on badgers in their setts and badgers are dug out for further torture), are common across the country. Horrendous cases of cruelty against badgers happen every week. It’s sad that the programme, and Jeremy Clarkson in particular, is so spectacularly misinformed and decided to pick on a protected wild animal that has lived in this country for over 250,000 years and whose future is so threatened.

So persecuted is the iconic badger that the species continues to be listed as a UK Wildlife Crime Priority by the National Wildlife Crime Unit. Only last year, the Annual Wildlife Crime Report revealed a shocking trend in badger baiting being shared online by younger people, as gangs took to social media to share their video and photographic trophies of mutilated badgers and terriers.

Violent crimes against animals have long been linked to violence against humans, with many recently convicted badger baiters already having records for crimes that impact local communities. Each year hundreds of cases of badger crime are reported to Badger Trust, with the national picture looking to be much bleaker for badgers given the lack of notifiable status attributed to violations of the Protection of Badgers Act. This means that national badger crime statistics are not recorded by the Home Office, so the figure is even higher.

Downplaying the need for the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, legislation designed to protect badgers from cruel persecution, is ill-advised at best and dangerous at worst because it overlooks the link between violence against animals and violence against humans.

The Facts on Costs

The programme also highlights the costs of bovine TB to farmers and taxpayers. But instead of blaming badgers, perhaps they should look more closely at how effectively the UK government has spent taxpayer money so far on reducing the scourge of bovine TB.

Defra's net expenditure on bTB eradication in England has averaged £100 million per year since 2012, including a yearly average of £30 million in compensation to farmers due to the loss of cattle from bTB herd breakdowns. However, badger culling has been found to have no statistical impact on reducing rates of bTB in cattle. It is little surprise, then, that cattle compensation was lower (£28 million) in the year 2011-2012, before badger culling began. Killing badgers is literally wiping out badgers with no effect on the disease. Local badger extinctions are now being reported throughout intensive cull regions in England.

Uncontrolled cattle movement, inadequate testing and reporting, alongside the unscientific focus on badgers, all add to the perseverance of bTB in English herds. The government needs to allocate adequate funds to biosecurity, control cattle movements, and focus more on developing a cattle vaccine. The taxpayer bill would decrease significantly in the medium term as there would be fewer herd breakdowns. Indeed, bTB is lower in Wales where it is more effectively controlled through cattle-based measures, and where they do not cull badgers.

Yet, in England, the government refuses to make biosecurity mandatory and continues to use taxpayer money to persecute badgers.

Clarkson’s Farm’s vilification of badgers is an ill-informed rant around a complex disease, a simplification which will not assist farmers or the taxpayer.

Badger Trust has made complaints to the production company behind Clarkson’s Farm, Amazon Prime and OFCOM.

Peter Hambly, Executive Director of Badger Trust, said:

“Spreading anti-badger propaganda without reference to the facts is unfair, dangerous and yet another attack on nature. It needs to stop.

Badgers are under threat like never before and, like all wild animals, need people to speak up for them. Please join me in speaking up for badgers and help protect our natural world.”