MADAM,

Before you start jumping up and down in defence of this admittedly cute looking wild animal, I want to put another side to living on a farm with TB and a very large number of badgers.

Let me say that we have had no problem with our badger sett. Before, we have left it well alone, our policy being live and let live. But now for the last seven months we have been hit with TB on our farm. We run a beef pedigree herd breeding calves for showing and selling looking always to improve our herd.

We were automatically shut down, this means not able to sell or buy.

We had to let our first cow go as I say seven months ago when she reacted to our TB test proven positive to the test.

After 60 days we had a retest, and much to our regret three cows tested positive two were heavy in calf but the other one had a calf at foot. I will never forget the look as she turned back to look for her calf as we herded her away towards the waiting lorry. These three cattle were shot with a rifle before being loaded. Since her being taken the calf has died because although we spent hours trying to take a bottle she just melted in front of our eyes.

Let me put the record straight, these cattle were our breeding stock never designed to go to slaughter.

So now we come to last week, 60 days on. Another test, this time two reactors straight to slaughter and another four inconclusive; these will have to be blood tested and if positive to this test will also be sent to slaughter.

One of the reactors is a fortnight from her calving date (if anyone would like to lead this cow on to the lorry please let us know as this is really going to be very hard for us, we have her mother, brother and sister in the herd and were looking forward to having this offspring in the herd also.) We are very compassionate and caring about our animals, working long hours to insure they have the best welfare possible.

Our strain of TB has been confirmed as a strain of TB carried by badgers from test carried out by Defra, and it is certainly not rocket science to know how it has come about.

Surely taking out one half of the problem is not the right way. Badgers have no predators, they are top of their food chain. Infected badgers have a slow and painful death. Our set has grown at a very great rate it has now spread into our fields and grassland; we cannot use this pasture for anything else, so our cattle will have to share the grazing with the badgers.

So the question is why do our cattle have to be given a death sentence this summer when the source of the infection is not being checked at all?

Perhaps our chief veterinary officer living just a few miles from Monmouth will be able to reply and give us the glimmer of hope that someone cares about doing something and our cattle will not be on death row.

Name and address supplied