In Reverse Chronological order:
Current Bovine TB trends in England’s High Risk Area, letter by Tom Langton & Paul Torgerson, 4/11 Jan 2025, Vet Record.
New approach needed to achieving TB-free status, letter by Dick Sibley, 21/28 September 2024, Vet Record.
Randomised Badger Culling Trial lacks evidence for proactive badger culling effect on tuberculosis in cattle: comment on Mills et al. 2024, Parts I & II, by Paul Torgerson, Sonja Hartnack, Fraser Lewis, Philip Rasmussen, Peter O’Donnell and Thomas Langton, preprinted with bioRxiv 20th September 2024.
Long-term badger cull plan dropped amid legal challenge but thousands still to be killed this year, The Independent, by Jane Dalton, 29 August 2024.
Interim report on the August 2024 pre-publication response to the July 2024 re-evaluation of evidence and analyses of proactive culling (published in 2006), as a part of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT), 1998-2005. by Torgerson PR, Langton TE, A first interim response to Mills et al I and Mills et al II, 18 August 2024.
Analysis of badger culling trial hard to replicate, Vet Record, News & Reports, 3/10 August 2024.
Defra promises to end badger cull – but no date given, by Allister Webb, Vet Times, July 24 2024.
TB testing and Transmission, letter in Vet Record, 6/13 July 2024, Tom Langton & Paul Torgerson.
Badger culls to continue in England despite lack of scientific evidence, by Helena Horton, The Guardian, 4th June 2024.
A bovine tuberculosis policy conundrum in 2023, Addendum April 2024, by Griffiths, L., Griffiths, M., Jones, B., Jones, M., Langton, T.E.S., Rendle, M., Torgerson, P..
Bovine TB in Cattle: true burden of disease untouched?, Vet Record, 30 March/13 April 2024, letter by Tom Langton.
APHA study looks at the effect of badger culling on bTB, Vet Record, 16/23 March 2024.
Plan to step up badger cull prompts fresh row between ministers and wildlife defenders, by Jane Dalton, Independent, 14th March 2024.
UK government overturns plans to phase out badger cull, by Helena Horton, The Guardian, 14th March 2024.
New TB breakdowns fall in England, letter by Tom Langton, Vet Record 17/24 February 2024.
BOVINE TB AND BADGERS UPDATE NOV 2023
A review of research papers and preprints relating to the controversial culling of badgers and inadequacies of cattle testing for bovine TB. 30 minute video by Tom Langton.Bovine TB and Badgers: a weakened link, by Tom Langton, British Wildlife, Volume 34, Number 6, pg 423-428, May 2023.
New report blasts ‘weak science and huge supposition’ behind bTB policy, Vet Times, 11th May 2023, by Allister Webb.
Government’s badger cull plan ‘deeply flawed’, damning report warns, The Independent, 10th May, 2023, by Jane Dalton.A bovine tuberculosis policy conundrum in 2023. On the scientific evidence relating to the Animal and Plant Health Agency/DEFRA policy concept for ‘Epidemiological’ badger culling. An Independent report by researchers and veterinarians to DEFRA and the UK Parliament, APRIL 2023, Griffiths, L., Griffiths, M., Jones, B., Jones, M., Langton, T.E.S., Rendle, M., Torgerson, P., April 2023.
Government adds expansive third prong to the badger cull, while claiming a ‘phase out’, theCanary, 31 March 2023, by Tracey Keeling.
Badger cull study ‘was watered down by top civil servant’ over issue of whether badger cull stopped cattle catching TB, The Daily Mail, August 30 2022, by Liz Hull.
Calls to cut bTB badger culling as species at ‘extinction risk’, Vet Times, August 19th 2022.
Government under fire for trying to justify badger cull at international conference, theCanary 14th August 2022, by Tracey Keeling.
UK badger culling row set to go transatlantic, Vet Times, August 12 2022, by Allister Webb.
Reaction to court of appeal decision, 26.07.2022, interview with Tom Langton.
How to win my vote, Spectator magazine issue: 4 June 2022, by Rod Liddle.
Farming Today, interview with CVO Christine Middlesmiss, 26 May 2022.
Badger Culling to Control bovine TB. (Dealing with Defra’s correction to their rebuttal data). Letter in Vet Record by Tom Langton, Mark Jones and Iain McGill, 21 May, 2022.
Why were you Wicked to Badgers?
Book Review: A History of Uncertainty – Bovine Tuberculosis in Britain 1850 to the Present, Peter J Atkins, 2016, Winchester University Press, by Tom Langton, 17.05.2022.
Tory government admits to using bogus data in row over badger cull study, theCanary, 16th May 2022, by Tracey Keeling.
Is it time to kill the badger cull?
According to new research, the badger cull isn’t working. Wildlife journalist James Fair takes a look at the science. BBC Wildlife Magazine by James Fair, 25.04.2022.
Suzanne Jarvis, Editor-in-Chief, Responds (to criticism of peer review process of Langton et al.), Vet Record 14.04.2022.
Badger Culling to Control Bovine TB, letter in Vet record by Jane Gibbens, with response from Thomas ES Langton, Mark W Jones & Iain McGill, 14.04.2022.
Badger culling to control bovine TB, letter in Vet Record, (Authors response to Defra’s rebuttal of Langton et al.). Thomas ES Langton, Mark W Jones & Iain McGill. 2nd April 2022.
New study finds no link between badger cull and decrease in bTB, Joshua Silverwood, Vet Times, 21 March 2022.
Christine Middlemiss and Gideon Henderson letter to Vet record 19th March 2022.
What is the role of badger culling as a control measure for bovine TB?,
Editorial in Vet Record by Paul R Torgerson, 19 March 2022.
New peer-reviewed scientific paper published March 18 2022:
Langton TES, Jones MW, McGill I. 2022. Analysis of the impacts of badger culling and cattle controls on bovine tuberculosis in cattle in the high-risk area of England, 2009–2020. Vet Rec 2022;e1384.
Modelling killed the badgers, by Tom Langton, 18th January 2021. Ecologist.
Is DIVA bovine TB test a breakthrough?, by Tom Langton, 9th September 2020. Ecologist
Out of the Woods?, by James Fair, article in BBC Wildlife, Vol 38.
BBC Wildlife vol 38, Spring 2020.
Badger Meddling, by Tom Langton, 5th November 2019. Ecologist.
Guest blog – Sorry Tony, you cannot spin this into a good news story for Natural England, by Dominic Woodfield, on Mark Avery’s blog, 13.09.2019.
Badger Culling and Bovine TB in Cattle:A Re-evaluation of Proactive Culling Benefit in the Randomized Badger Culling Trials, by Tom Langton, Journal of Dairy and Veterinary Science, May 23rd 2019.
Does the badger cull spell trouble for ground-nesting birds? by James Fair, Ends Report, 30 May 2019.
Read here
‘The badger cull policy is not evidence based’, by Tom Langton. Veterinary Record Vol 184 No 23, 715. And response to replies subsequent issues.
Threat to badger culls across England as legal challenge mounted by campaigner, by Abi Kay, Farmers Guardian, 17 May 2019. – No longer available online.
Natural England’s call for badger cull evidence an ‘absolute nightmare’, by Rachel Salvidge, Ends Report, 13.05.2019.
Read here
Farmers are set ‘impossible task’ over risk to birds from badger cull, by Helena Horton, The Sunday Telegraph, 12.05.2019.
Read here
Natural England censured by the High Court, by James Fair, BBC Wildlife, May 2019.
Read here
Badgers, bTB and SSSIs, by Sue Everett, British Wildlife, April 2019.
Read here
Judge says Natural England failed to assess impacts of badger cull on birds in SSSIs, by Rachel Salvidge, 15.03.2019.
Read here
A bovine TB black-and-whitewash?, An in-depth analysis of Sir Godfray’s Bovine TB Strategy Review, by Tom Langton, 4th December 2018. Ecologist.
Guest blog for Mark Avery – NE, Badgers and Judgement, by Dominic Woodfield, 24.09.2018.
Judicial review – a blunt tool for badger protection, by Carol Day, Wildlife Link, August 2018.
Guest blog for Mark Avery – Whither Now for State Nature Conservation? by Dominic Woodfield, 09.07.2018.
Government faces High Court challenge over ‘disastrous’ badger cull, in landmark case, by Jane Dalton, 08.07.2018.
As the state is dismantled, who will save Britain’s wildlife? by George Monbiot, 04.07.2018.
Article in BBC Wildlife magazine, by James Fair, July 2018. Campaigners have taken out a Judicial Review against Natural England, which questions the processes that the public body followed in relation to the badger cull.
Lies, damned lies and twisted statistics – fake science set to kill 100,000 English badgers, by Tom Langton, 13th April 2017. Ecologist.
Bovine TB summit: science based policy, or policy-based science?, by Tom Langton, 7th April 2017. Ecologist.
Bovine TB Part II: rotten data, dodgy science, bad politics, by Tom Langton, 18th May 2016. Ecologist.
Dodgy data, bad science, rotten politics: why the badger cull is wrong and stupid, by Tom Langton, 28th April 2016. Ecologist