Kurtz renews wildlife cull call over rise in bTB breakdowns
In the 12 months to March 2025, a record 13,174 animals were slaughtered in Wales due to bovine TB, an increase of 17.7% compared with 11,194 in the previous year. There were also 619 new incidents during the same period, a 2% increase from 607 in the prior 12 months.
In a letter to the Deputy First Minister, Mr Kurtz referenced the latest data from Lincolnshire, where a five-year culling programme has seen TB prevalence in badgers fall from 24% to just 4%. Natural England has confirmed further culls will take place in ten more areas from this September.
The intervention follows mounting frustration across Wales' agricultural communities, particularly in long-standing TB hotspot areas like Pembrokeshire, where confidence in the Welsh Government's eradication strategy is at an all-time low.
Mr Kurtz, who has helped push forward the Pembrokeshire Project, a science-led local initiative to tackle the disease, said it was time for the Welsh Government to take a more honest, holistic and pragmatic approach.
He said: 'Farmers are being pushed to the brink, financially and emotionally. The ongoing toll of bovine TB is devastating, not just for businesses, but for the mental wellbeing of entire families and communities.
'Welsh Government must be willing to look at all the evidence, including the clear impact that targeted wildlife control is having in parts of England. It cannot keep asking farmers to suffer while ruling out potentially effective tools.
Mr Kurtz also criticised the Welsh Labour Party's 2021 manifesto, which pledged to 'forbid' a badger cull, a word he described as 'ideological and absolute,' showing a refusal to engage with evolving science or the real-world impact on farming families.
'To use the word 'forbid' in a manifesto is extraordinary. It suggests that no matter what evidence emerges, the decision is made. That's not a science-led approach, that's politics getting in the way of progress.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
22 minutes ago
- Leader Live
ADHD waiting list led to rise in unregulated private providers
The ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England with the support of the Government, has published an interim report saying the system for diagnosing and managing ADHD needs to be overhauled. At the moment, ADHD assessment and treatment in England is provided by highly specialised doctors in secondary care. But the report warned: 'Inability to access NHS services has led to a significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated, resulting in two-tier access to services, diagnosis and treatment; one for those who can pay and another for those who cannot. 'This drives health inequalities and links to disproportionate impacts and outcomes in the education and justice systems, employment and health.' Experts behind the study said waiting times for NHS ADHD services 'have escalated and are unacceptably long' and demand on services is 'very likely' to continue to rise. The taskforce concluded that ADHD is not solely the remit of the NHS and other health providers, with schools being vital for identifying and meeting needs at an early stage. And while a clinical diagnosis of ADHD via the NHS is required if a person needs medication, early support can still be provided to others. The report said: 'We need timely recognition and early support of suspected ADHD and neurodivergence across all settings. 'This is especially important in schools and the early years, to prevent adverse impacts and costly outcomes in the future. This should be needs-led and not require a clinical diagnosis.' The report also suggested there is no evidence of over-diagnosis of ADHD in the UK. It argued: 'England and the rest of the UK have much lower service recognition and treatment rates of ADHD diagnosis compared with other European countries. 'Recent data show a very high level of under-recognition and under-treatment of strictly diagnosed ADHD, with significant inequalities in access to care.' The report also addressed concerns about potential 'over-medicalisation and over-diagnosis', including worries that people are self-diagnosing ADHD based on information from social media. However, the report, said that 'currently there is no good evidence on what percentage of those waiting to see a clinician have self-diagnosed ADHD using social media and eventually meet or do not meet ADHD diagnostic criteria after a high-quality assessment. 'We only know currently that in England, recognised rates of ADHD are lower than the expected prevalence of ADHD.' Currently, the estimated economic costs of not treating ADHD are around £17 billion to the UK economy, the report went on. This includes through lower tax contributions, people needing state benefits and more likely to be not in education, employment or training, or who are long-term unemployed. 'Many of these costs are avoidable, as with appropriate, early support, people with ADHD can thrive,' it said. Professor Anita Thapar, chair of the ADHD Taskforce, said: 'The recommendations put forward by the taskforce will require action across Government and cross-sector organisations to make the necessary changes to improve the lives of people with ADHD. 'We need to get this right, to make sure people get early diagnosis and support, not just in the NHS but across society.' Dr Adrian James, NHS England's medical director for mental health and neurodiversity, said: 'We know that too many people with ADHD have been waiting for too long for support, which is why we launched the taskforce last year to help respond to the significant growth in the need for care. 'It is clear that much more needs to be done to improve ADHD assessment and care in England and ensure people can get a timely diagnosis, and we welcome the findings from the interim report, and look forward to its final conclusions later this year.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Lord Darzi's report into the state of the NHS laid out how severe the delays have become for people waiting for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis. 'We welcome the publication of the ADHD Taskforce's interim report, which provides valuable insights into the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including access to services and support.' The NHS has launched publicly-available data collection on ADHD referrals and waiting times to help local teams better understand how they are performing. By March 2026, the Government also aims for six in 10 pupils to have access to a mental health support team in school.
Times
35 minutes ago
- Times
Findlay gives first minister the Victor Meldrew treatment
People often find it hard to believe that Richard Wilson was just 53 when he took on the role of Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave. Indeed, he was at first reluctant to take on the part because he did not consider himself remotely old enough to do it justice. Coincidentally, Russell Findlay is the same age as Wilson was when he first played Britain's favourite permanently-exasperated pensioner. Like Victor, the leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party brings a heavy 'I don't believe it' vibe to the Holyrood chamber. It is one of his most endearing qualities. Each week, one wonders what will set him off next. It could be anything, frankly. For — and there is no point in fannying about here — this is a target-rich environment. This week, it was new guidance issued to teachers on how they might henceforth deal with monstrously disruptive pupils. This, Findlay said, was 'exactly what you might expect from this ineffective government: 49 pages of tedious, hand-wringing nonsense'. We were asked to believe that he deplores this but we all know that secretly Findlay loves it. The Tory leader is an Eeyore, never happier than when things are falling apart. What, he wanted to know, is the first minister going to do about Scotland's burgeoning population of scrotes and nyaffs? Shouldn't he recognise that 'a tougher approach' to school discipline was required — the pillory, perhaps — rather than 'laminated cards and inclusive chats'? Do teachers need endless checklists and decision-making flowcharts and all the rest of the all-nonsense approach favoured by this hopelessly woke government? Isn't it time to get back to basics? Well, the first minister said, 'it's always my priority to listen to the teaching profession.' And this, you may think, could explain many of the problems long so evident in Scottish education. The politicians are listening to all the wrong people. Moreover, Swinney added, 'if young people are unable to participate in their education they are unlikely to go on to good outcomes' and although exclusions must be part of the process, 'exclusions can have negative consequences for young people'. Doubtless this is true, though unfortunately this did not address the salient point made by Findlay. Namely that 'a small minority of pupils prevent the majority from learning'. Perhaps this explains why there were nearly 12,000 exclusions in 2022-23. Admittedly, the first minister said, this was fewer than had been the case in 2018-19. No one could quite agree if this was an impressively high number or a deplorably low one and consequently whether the falling number of exclusions was a good or a bad thing. Still, the consequence of excluding children from school would be to let them loose on Scotland's streets, Swinney said — where they would doubtless run amok and provide Findlay with something else about which to complain. Heads the government loses and tails the opposition wins. Quite so; those, after all, are the rules and this is one rare area in which we may expect the rules to be followed.
South Wales Guardian
2 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
UK readies charter flights out of Tel Aviv as Middle East crisis spirals
Downing Street urged Britons in the region to register their presence with the Foreign Office as the crisis deepens and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called on all sides to reach a diplomatic outcome. Number 10 on Friday morning said that the situation remains 'fast-moving' and would continue to be monitored closely as the Government works with Israeli authorities to ready flights out of Tel Aviv. The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. Meeting with @SecRubio and @SteveWitkoff in the White House today, we discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two… — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 19, 2025 A spokesman added: 'We are advising British nationals to continue to register their presence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to be contactable with further guidance on these flights. 'The Foreign Secretary will shortly announce that the Government is working with the Israeli authorities to provide charter flights from Tel Aviv airport once airspace reopens.' Foreign Secretary David Lammy said work was under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens when airspace reopens. Land routes out of Israel remain open and British staff are on hand to support UK nationals who have crossed the border, he added. Sir Keir has also urged Donald Trump to step back from military action against Iran after a series of sabre-rattling posts from the US President on his Truth Social platform. The Prime Minister said there is a 'real risk of escalation' in the conflict, adding that there had previously been 'several rounds of discussions with the US' and 'that, to me, is the way to resolve this issue'. Israeli air strikes reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early on Friday, Iranian media reported. Since the conflict erupted last week, at least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Meanwhile, at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. It remains unclear whether the UK would join any military action, although there has been speculation that US involvement could require using the British-controlled base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands. The B-2 stealth bombers based there are capable of carrying specialised 'bunker buster' bombs, which could be used against Iran's underground nuclear facility at Fordo. Attorney General Lord Hermer is reported to have raised legal concerns about any British involvement in the conflict beyond defending its allies, which could limit the extent of any support for the US if Mr Trump decides to act militarily. Mr Lammy arrived in Geneva for talks with the Iranian foreign minister and European allies as the UK presses for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Foreign Secretary is meeting Abbas Araghchi on Friday alongside his counterparts from France, Germany and the EU as he seeks to negotiate a settlement before Mr Trump decides on whether to take military action against Tehran. In a statement read by his press secretary on Thursday, Mr Trump said there was still 'a substantial chance of negotiations' and said he would make a decision on deploying US forces 'within the next two weeks'. Mr Trump had previously said he 'may' join Israeli strikes against Iran and its nuclear programme, but added: 'I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Friday's meeting with the so-called E3 countries follows Mr Lammy's visit to Washington, where he met US secretary of state Marco Rubio in the White House on Thursday evening to discuss 'how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict'.
