This year’s lecture, entitled Badgering: The Science, Policy and Politics of Managing Cattle Tuberculosis, will be delivered by Professor Rosie Woodroffe, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Zoology, London.
The event will be held on Thursday 10th March 2016 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 2 at 18:30. There will be a buffet in the Grimond foyer beforehand from 17:30. The event is free to attend but advance booking is required.
Synopsis:
People who make decisions – from world leaders to individuals – are likely to make better choices if they have some evidence of which options are more likely to achieve their aims. This is especially true for decisions involving wildlife, because natural systems are complex and can respond to management in unexpected ways.
Britain’s management of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle showcases the highs and lows of evidence-based policymaking. The problem is real: each year TB control kills tens of thousands of cattle, brings misery to thousands of farmers, and costing taxpayers tens of millions of pounds. TB transmission from wild badgers contributes to the problem, and badger culling has been part of TB control policy for decades. However, scientific evidence shows that, counter-intuitively, badger culling can undermine progress to TB eradication.
In this lecture I will explore the scientific evidence surrounding badger culling, discussing how this evidence has influenced the decisions made by policymakers, lobbyists, and activists, and drawing wider conclusions for the development of evidence-based environmental policy and the application of conservation science.