I WAS appalled to read the Government intends to go ahead with its insane policy of culling badgers (The Argus, July 13).

Scientists who have studied the problem say culling badgers is not the way to solve the problem of bovine TB in cattle, and is likely to make the matter worse.

The problem is best tackled by controls on the movement of cattle – that is how they got bovine TB under control in Scotland.

The truth is that in the parts of England where bovine TB is a problem in cattle, the main cause is cattle-to-cattle transfer.

The skin test used to find sick cattle is quite ineffective, because it misses about 30% of sick animals.

Cattle can harbour TB for at least two years before they show any symptoms or react to the test. In that time they can spread the infection to other animals.

And worse still, some infected animals can become part of the human food chain before they would have shown any symptoms.

Some parts of the English herd are so riddled with TB that farmers want to scapegoat wildlife.

Perhaps your readers should be advised that Scottish beef is safe to eat, but not other British beefs.

I James, Easthill Drive, Portslade

THE balance of nature will suffer if the Government culls thousands of badgers across the country.

I live in an area where there are now no cattle of any kind. One person has complained to the authorities about us feeding badgers, but so do many other people in this area. We enjoy watching them, be it day or night, and intend to carry on feeding them.

I’ve been feeding them since long before I moved to this area nearly 20 years ago. To my knowledge, some people have been feeding them for 30 years.

We have checked with the authorities and there is no law in place to stop anyone feeding wildlife.

I shall join a badger trust, and hope I can help overturn the Government’s ruling on culling these beautiful creatures. Animal protection organisations will fight it too.

W Charlton, Westfield Avenue North, Saltdean