NO...

John Evans, spokesman for Save the Badgers group

It should not be supported because history and science shows us it is not the solution. This “cull” is merely a euphemism for a savage mass slaughter.
And, so it can be done “on the cheap”, all the usual animal welfare issues are being ignored. More “humane” methods (such as trapping and disposal by paid specialists) are being circumvented, and farmers themselves are being allowed to blast away at badgers with guns.
Unnecessary suffering will result – and how safe will it be for people out enjoying the splendour of the countryside?
Farming lobby groups are blaming poor brock for the problem of bovine TB.
This despite millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money already spent on scientific studies of whether killing badgers would solve this problem.
In 2007, after nine years’ research, the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB stated “badger culling cannot meaningfully contribute to the future control of cattle TB in Britain”.
In 2010, a major study by Imperial College London found any “beneficial effects are not sustained”.
And between 1975 and 1982 more than 10,000 badgers were gassed in an attempt to solve the problem, yet incidence of bovine TB still rose.
In Wales, the Government has decided to vaccinate badgers, and impose stricter regulations on farmers so their cattle remain healthy. This is the answer.

YES...

William White, National Farmers Union South East regional director

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is the biggest challenge facing the UK livestock industry today, leading to the slaughter of 26,000 cattle during 2011.
Since the link between badgers, cattle and bTB was established by Sir John Krebs in 1997, the farming industry has been seeking a long-term solution.
Trying to control this endemic animal disease cost the GB taxpayer £91m during the 20010/11 financial year, an increase of 44 per cent on the previous financial year.
We can only begin to reduce this cost if we carry out an effective badger cull in areas where badgers are known to have the disease.
The NFU fully supports the development of vaccines for badgers. We believe that vaccines will play a role in the long-term eradication of bTB.
But at the moment the only vaccine available is in an injectable form.
This means that you need to cage-trap the badgers to vaccinate them, which is practically very challenging and has to be done annually for a period of at least five years.
In addition, there is no vaccine available for cattle nor an approved test that can distinguish between a vaccinated and an infected animal.
There is no sense in vaccinating an already infected animal.
So, in order to tackle this disease, we must reduce the reservoir of bTB in the wildlife.