LEDBURY'S MP, Bill Wiggin has spoken out in Parliament in favour of the badger cull, which is taking place in Herefordshire and elsewhere.

Speaking at last week Commons debate on the cull, he supported Government policy as a means of combating bovine TB "as well as protecting healthy badger populations by culling infected badgers".

And he says the danger and the problem goes even wider than that.

Mr Wiggin, the MP for the North Herefordshire constituency said: "The reason why we are all here is that bovine TB is caused by a species-jumping bacterium, and it affects people. That is why this is such an important subject, and it is no good saying that it is all about badgers. The Government’s record on it is superb. By identifying the edge areas, they have made it clear that a huge part of our country has badgers with no infection.

"There is a clear, healthy population of badgers, and they need to be protected from the badgers in my constituency, which have a high incidence of infection. If we lose sight of that, we do no favours to the people who love badgers or to the badgers that are not infected. We all know the reason why TB is a horrible disease. By doing nothing we are being irresponsible and letting down both healthy badgers and the people whose livelihoods depend on cattle farming."

Mr Wiggin added: "We need to continue to look at the evidence, and I hope that the pilot schemes will start to publish successful evidence soon. During the recess I read that the incidence of outbreaks in Wales and in the edge areas where vaccines are being trialed has actually gone up, which is a disaster for those of us who want vaccines to work, but in among that gloom is a little sparkle of hope to all of those who voted to leave the EU, because when we are out we will potentially be allowed to vaccinate our cattle, which is illegal in the EU at the moment.

“As a Hereford cattle breeder I go through the same fears every time my herd is tested. The roll out of the cull is crucial to protect all uninfected animals - both cattle and badgers.”

Protestors against the cull say it is ineffective, and could even make the problem worse.

Ronald Lee, a spokesman for the anti-cull protestors who campaigned outside Tesco's in Ledbury recently said: "The vast majority of people in this country are opposed to the slaughter of badgers and are appalled that the government wants to authorise the killing of 100,000 of them nationwide.

"Hundreds of badgers have already been shot during the past three years and it has been revealed that a large number of them were not killed immediately and underwent considerable suffering. Now the slaughter has been extended to many more areas, including Herefordshire."

Mr Lee added: "The government states that the reason for the badger cull is to prevent the spread of TB in cattle, but there is a very large amount of evidence that it will not be effective in doing this and could well make the problem worse."