THE HYPOTHESISED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS AND MELES MELES (EUROPEAN BADGER)

That this House notes the Government has to date authorised £25,000,000 expenditure on the culling of badgers in England and Wales; further notes that this equates to expenditure of approximately £7,000 per European Badger killed; recognises that the hypothesised relationship between bovine tuberculosis and Meles meles, European Badger, is as yet unproven; and considers that a policy of culling represents questionable value for money, offers little benefit to farmers, and is both inefficient and unsustainable at the current level of expenditure.