Badger cull aims to curb TB in cattle Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, said last week: "I come at this from a practical countryman's point of view. We cannot allow this pool of disease to keep on growing, and I find the attitude of those who want these wonderful animals to die of this disgusting disease completely incomprehensible," he told the Farmers' Guardian. In opposition he campaigned against Labour's refusal to cull badgers, tabling around 600 questions on bovine TB. The cull is opposed by the Badger Trust, which unsuccessfully blocked the cull in the Appeal Court last week. Mary Creagh, the shadow environment secretary, told the Guardian newspaper: "The cull will cost more than it saves, put a huge strain on the police, and will spread bovine TB in the short term as badgers are disturbed by the shooting. Ministers should listen to the scientists and can this cull - which is bad for farmers, bad for taxpayers and bad for wildlife.