MANY words have been written and spoken concerning the badger cull, both for and against, but in comparison very little about research into the causes and problems of badgers carrying and passing on bovine TB to cattle. Here are some questions people ask and would like answered. Why is it that in the wild only badgers appear to be infected? How do badgers become infected? And why can badgers not be vaccinated instead of being killed? Badgers get the disease from somewhere but where?

If, for instance, it is from the soil, why do other wild animals not get infected? And to take it one step further, if it is in the soil, why are cattle and humans not infected through eating food grown in the same soil? It would appear that there are many unanswered questions out there and surely killing should be the very last resort, not just killing for the sake of killing. With all the brains being paid vast amounts of money for research into everything, from why some people smile, to why some people have blue eyes and others have green eyes, surely more research into badgers with TB should be easy.

KEITH BROOKS, Gateley, Horspath