A new documentary, Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me, is now available on BBC iPlayer, charting Sir Brian May’s journey as he looks to explore the different attitudes of farmers and those who – like himself – oppose the culling of badgers in the ongoing battle against bovine tuberculosis (TB).
The film has been four years in the making, and will outrage British viewers more than anything since the Post Office scandal was revealed. It represents 12 years of research at a practical level on cattle farms in the UK. The new evidence presented is revolutionary and shocking, and details first-hand through the eyes of farmers themselves, the monumental failure of British authorities to deal with the terrible problem of bovine TB in recent years, and the tragically wasteful resulting slaughter of both cows and badgers.
Queen guitarist and dedicated animal campaigner Brian May and Anne Brummer, CEO of May’s Save-Me organisation, embarked on their journey to discover the truth about bovine TB 14 years ago, when David Cameron revealed his intention to cull badgers if elected, in an attempt to curb bovine TB. Along the way, rather than fight the farmers over the killing of badgers, May and Brummer effectively became farmers themselves, joining dairy man Robert Reid at Gatcombe Farm in Devon, and his visionary vet Dick Sibley. Together, they transformed his chronically infected herd of cattle into a healthy herd with certified TB-Free status. And without killing a single badger. The revolutionary methods they evolved are now known as the Gatcombe Strategy.
Over the last 12 years, almost a quarter of a million badgers have been slaughtered, based on the belief that they were spreading TB amongst cattle herds. The heartbreaking testament of the farmers in this documentary is that this policy has failed them utterly. Rates of infection and consequent numbers of cattle slaughtered are no better and in some areas worse than ever, following the cull.
The documentary makers report that successive governments in collaboration with the National Farmers Union have acted on the advice of a succession of papers published by a small group of scientists, all claiming to have seen improvements in the welfare of cattle due to the culling programme, or claiming that their modelling theoretically supported this idea.
May and Brummer present ample evidence to confidently assert that the very idea that badgers are part of the reinfection process is unsupportable. The advice given to the government has been based on bad science, and amounts to an enormous red herring, standing in the way of finding a proper strategy to solve the problem.
The Gatcombe team not only solved the problem for the badgers, but offer a blueprint for the true and speedy eradication of this disease in cattle and a glimpse of hope for farming communities.
Speaking about the documentary, Sir Brian May said: “I don’t blame people for being suspicious of me in the beginning, because, you know, I’m a guitarist. You know, I’m a rock star. What am I doing? Why would I have some contribution to make?
“I came in to save the badgers. I now realise that to save the badgers, you have to save everybody because it’s a mess. It’s a tragic human drama where people’s hearts are broken, where animals are killed unnecessarily and the problem never gets solved”
Anne Brummer stated: “It has been a long journey with a steep learning curve. We began by studying the pathogen M. bovis, tracing its transmission routes within this herd, observing its interactions with different cattle, and identifying when an animal was infectious or infected. We discovered that cattle can harbor M. bovis for years, even passing skin tests undetected. Our research demonstrates that it’s possible to manage bovine TB within your herd without worrying about an infected badger population. It’s shocking that over 230,000 badgers have been killed based on flawed science. The latest government model acknowledges that they have no clear understanding of badgers’ impact on bovine TB. The cull has always been unscientific, ineffective and cruel, failing farmers, cattle and badgers every single day.”
In recent days, the UK Government has announced a planned end to badger culling with a new TB eradication policy.
Continue to support the campaign to end the badger cull – sign the petition https://savemetrust.co.uk/2021/07/22/badger-cull-public-enquiry-and-petition/
About the Save Me Trust:
The Save Me Trust exists to protect the welfare and dignity of wild animals. Save Me was founded by Brian May and Anne Brummer to work on the issues affecting wildlife today. Climate change, increasing human population, destruction of habitats and pollution are the most significant factors causing the rapid decline of the creatures with whom we share our planet. By working together and changing our behaviours, we can achieve sustainable change that supports wildlife, business and the environment, and offers every species a better future. https://savemetrust.co.uk
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