Badgers targeted in bovine TB prevention

LONDON, April 10 (UPI) -- Welsh officials say they will cull badgers this year to prevent the transmission of bovine tuberculosis.

The badger cull will likely area be in an along the borders of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, The Times of London said Wednesday.

"We know there's a link between infection in cattle and infection in badgers," Christianne Glossop, the top veterinary official in Wales, said. "The aim is healthy cattle, healthy badgers and healthy people."

Critics of the plan say it is not likely to make a much difference in controlling cattle TB. "This decision flies in the face of sound scientific judgment," John Avizienius, deputy head of farm animal science at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said in a statement. "The most authoritative scientific research ever undertaken on the subject recommended against badger-culling."

Rob Atkinson, the society's head of wildlife science, said the opposition to a badger cull is based on science not sentiment. "The RSPCA cares as much about cattle welfare as badgers," he said.

Nearly 8,000 cattle were killed in Wales last year to prevent spread of the disease, the newspaper said.