Irene Campbell

I thank all Members and the Minister for their contributions to what has been an interesting debate on a very important issue. We have heard about the importance of biosecurity, testing regimes and finding an effective vaccine, about the effect on farmers financially and emotionally, and about differing scientific views. For me, the main message is that we need to move as quickly as we can, because over the years so many innocent animals have needlessly lost their lives because of bovine tuberculosis. I am obviously looking forward to an end to the badger cull, and I hope it comes sooner rather than later. The UK is often referred to as a world leader in animal welfare, and the new Labour Government have an opportunity to strengthen our standing. I look forward to the release of the animal welfare strategy and the implementation of the bovine tuberculosis strategy that will end the cull. I thank Robert Pownall, the creator of the petition, and his colleague Tom Langton at Protect the Wild, for meeting with me. I congratulate them on gathering more than 102,000 signatures. I also thank Sir Charles Godfray, the director of the Oxford Martin School; Ellie Ward at Wildlife and Countryside Link; and Neeve McGinty, Tori Morgan and Marianne Combe at the National Farmers Union for meeting me in preparation for this debate. Finally, I thank the Petitions Committee staff for their invaluable hard work and the support they gave me in preparing for this debate. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered e-petition 700317 relating to Bovine Tuberculosis control and badger culling.