It is odd that a respected MPs’ committee has today claimed that badger culling will help curb TB in cattle. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee says in its report on the role of badgers in transmitting bovine TB, that farmers could be allowed to kill badgers so long as their action meets several conditions. The Committee refers frequently to the need for agreement to a cull from the scientists forming the government-appointed Independent Scientific Group (ISG) who have spent so much time studying possible links between badgers and bovine TB. But they ignore the conclusions of those scientists, published in June 2007, that ‘badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain’ and that ‘the rising incidence of disease can be reversed, and geographical spread constrained, by the rigid application of cattle-based control measures alone’. The RSPB grazes cattle on many of its nature reserves to stop vegetation becoming too dense for wildlife so we sympathise with farmers whose herds have been infected. But there is still no proof that culling badgers would have stopped those infections or that it will prevent outbreaks in future. Because of that, we will not voluntarily allow badger culling on our land. The ISG says small-scale culling could cause bovine TB to spread while eliminating badgers over a larger area would be both costly and difficult. A widespread cull could also seriously reduce badger numbers, putting at risk their conservation status. The MPs admit in their report that culling badgers alone will not eradicate bovine TB. They are right. Vaccines for badgers and cattle must be developed rapidly to properly tackle the disease. More cattle testing and preventative measures on farms are also important. It is crucial that money is not wasted on other, flawed, means of disease control.