Article in The Independent by Jane Dalton
Blood tests were inconclusive, prompting claims the money was wasted.
An operation to reduce the spread of tuberculosis in cattle cost £76,000 for each badger culled.
The bill to taxpayers in Wales totalled £382,112 for the exercise in which five of the nocturnal animals were culled on three farms last year.
Blood tests on the badgers provided differing results before and after death – prompting claims the money was wasted.
Culling on the three farms between August and November was part of the Welsh government’s attempts to reduce the spread of bovine TB in cattle herds with repeated outbreaks.
A total of 37 badgers were trapped and their blood was tested for the disease at the setts,. Any that tested positive were killed – five in all, a Welsh government report has revealed.
But when the blood test was repeated in the laboratory after post-mortem examinations on the bodies, they tested negative, with no infection showing.
The cost of the trapping, blood tests and post-mortem examinations came to £383,112 – the equivalent fo £76,622 for each badger killed.
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