I’d like to thank Simon Thomas, Paul Davies, Neil Hamilton and Llyr Gruffydd for putting this motion before us today. I agree that we need to tackle bovine TB by committing to use the most effective measures to control and eradicate the disease. I do not agree that culling the badger population is the most effective measure to tackle bovine TB. In fact, all the scientific evidence shows that most disease transmission is from cattle to cattle, and killing badgers will not eradicate herd-to-herd transmission.

An independent scientifically robust trial of badger culling was undertaken, which took nearly a decade and cost approximately £50 million pounds, and the lives of 11,000 badgers. Following the trial, the independent scientific group concluded badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain.

In fact, the evidence suggests that, unless we completely eradicate badgers from Britain, culls can actually lead to an increase in TB infection rates. This is because the territorial nature of badgers stops free-ranging diseased badgers from roaming throughout the countryside. Do those who propose a cull really want to hunt badgers to extinction? Must we destroy one of Britain’s most iconic species, protected by their own Act of Parliament, because it is cheaper to kill them rather than vaccinate them as well as the cattle?

For those who favour a cull, could you explain how you would kill badgers humanely? During the 2013 cull trials, around a quarter of badgers were still alive five minutes after being shot. This led the British Veterinary Association to call for controlled shooting to be abandoned as a culling method. Not only is a cull inhumane; it’s also ineffective. There are three active cull zones in England, and all three have seen an increase in bovine TB. Scotland is free of TB, yet they have a large badger population. Here in Wales, we have seen a reduction in bovine TB without killing badgers, while in the Republic of Ireland, they’ve been killing badgers for 30 years without having any noticeable effect on TB. They now want to extend the cull to include deer.

To conclude, the most effective measures to control and eradicate the disease are increased biosecurity and vaccination, and not wiping out the entire badger population in the UK. Diolch yn fawr.