Wrexham MP Ian Lucas has voted for a Parliamentary motion condemning the UK Government’s badger cull.
Mr Lucas has long been an opponent of the proposed cull and has called on the Government to look into vaccination – a route being followed by the Labour Welsh Government. The vote, which took place in the House of Commons yesterday, followed a trial cull in South West England which has been widely condemned as a failure.
The vote was won 219-1, but as it occurred after an Opposition Day debate the Government are not compelled to take action.
Mr Lucas said: “Hundreds of people have written to me condemning these culls and the Government should take heed of the strength of feeling on this issue. They have received – but have not yet released – a report which is expected to say the culls were a failure. They did not reach their targets and had to be extended, they may have actually spread TB by causing perturbation – where badgers moved out of culling areas – and they were hugely expensive.
“I sympathise with farmers who are seeing their cattle slaughtered, but I genuinely do not believe that this cull was the way to tackle the problems of bovine TB. That is why I voted to condemn the cull last week, and why the Government should think again.”
