A war of words has broken out in the United Kingdom between a coffee-shop chain, animal-rights activists and dairy farmers.
UK farmers are currently suffering high incidents of tuberculosis in their herds in certain areas of the countries – and badgers are taking the blame for spreading the disease. Ongoing debates on badger culls are being held at government level; it’s a real contentious issue.
Just recently coffee company Caffe Nero announced it was no longer sourcing milk from dairy farms in areas that supported badger culls, following demands from animal activists who threatened to target the chain’s stores. The news was met by anger from dairy farmers who accused the chain of giving in to the demands of bullies.
Dairy UK chief executive Judith Bryans said, “The industry wants to have healthy cows and healthy wildlife. Any decision not to take milk from cull zones could have an impact on dairy farmers and consumers, yet does nothing to help the situation.”
Farmer leaders said they are disappointed by Caffe Nero’s decision to stop sourcing milk from Gloucestershire and Somerset. These are two areas where the government will this autumn continue a cull to halt the spread of tuberculosis in cattle.
A spokeswoman for the National Farmers’ Union said, “It is very disappointing to hear that Caffe Nero has taken this step. This is a government policy based on scientific evidence, aimed at controlling bovine TB – a disease which is a huge threat to dairy and beef farmers in the South West and other parts of the country and which resulted in nearly 33,000 cattle being slaughtered last year.”
The coffee company said the anti-badger-cull activists’ threats were serious against its staff, which left it no choice than to change its milk-buying policy. According to social media the activists are considering Sainsbury supermarket as their next target.
Source – AGRI-View