From a report in the Independent on July 1st 2018 by Jane Dalton
Foxes and hounds spread TB as well as badgers, study claims, prompting call for greater hunting security.
Call for packs to be reined in as research deepened row between wildlife cull supporters and opponents.
Fox hunting is poised to face greater scrutiny following arguments over the recent badger cull after a new study showed that foxes can also spread tuberculosis in the countryside.
And a leading wildlfe campaigner called for a moratorium on hunting on the grounds that bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is also spread by packs of hounds.
French government scientists published the evidence showing foxes can also carry and transmit bovine TB.
The research has further widened the divide between Britain’s animal welfare groups and supporters of the badger cull, which was rolled out across most of England just weeks ago in an effort to reduce bTB.
The government and farmers have long argued that badgers, which carry TB, pass the disease to cattle that come into contact with them so eliminating the nocturnal animals will halt the spread.
But opponents of the badger cull claimed the French evidence undermined arguments for the cull, while others feared it could even prompt ministers to order widespread official extermination of fxes, as they have frequent contact with badgers.
If UK foxes are infected, eradicating bTB would be almost impossible, the Sunday Times reported.
To read the rest of the article click here: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/foxes-badger-cull-hunt-hunting-hounds-tb-bovine-tuberculosis-a8425961.html
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