Badger cull considered in attempt to tackle bovine TB

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) costs the taxpayer up to £40m a year and a new plan to tackle it in Northern Ireland could involve culling badgers.

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has started a public consultation in which he has outlined a series of measures, but a badger cull is one of the preferred options.

Badgers also carry bovine TB and farmers believe they help spread it.

However, wildlife organisations say four out of every five badgers killed in a cull would be healthy.