Vermin, Victims and Disease: UK Framings of Badgers In and Beyond the Bovine TB Controversy

Angela Cassidy*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)
54 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The question of whether to cull wild badgers in order to control the spread of bovine TB (bTB) in UK cattle herds has been deeply contentious for nearly 40 years, and still shows no sign of resolution. This paper will examine the strategic framing of badgers in recent debates over bTB in the UK media, which take two opposing forms: the good badger as epitomised in Kenneth Grahame's children's novel The Wind in the Willows; and the less familiar bad badger: carnivore, digger, and carrier of disease. It will then uncover the deeper historical and cultural roots of these representations, to argue that underlying the contemporary badger/bTB controversy is an older badger debate about the proper relationship between these wild animals and humans. Finally, the implications of this finding for current debates over bTB policy will be explored.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)192-214
Number of pages23
JournalSOCIOLOGIA RURALIS
Volume52
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2012

Keywords

  • IDYLLIC RURALITY
  • POSTMAN-PAT
  • NEW-ZEALAND
  • TUBERCULOSIS
  • EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • CONSERVATION
  • BIOSECURITY
  • BOUNDARIES
  • BRITAIN
  • POLICY

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