Sir, – In the recent past you published a letter from Patrick Sleigh, of NFUS North-East, which inaccurately tried to connect lamb losses with ‘badger predation’, without reference to the large body of evidence about the behaviour of badgers or the real story behind the high lamb losses across Scotland.

Badgers are not active predators of fast-moving prey. With poor eyesight and a good sense of smell, they feed mainly by following family paths, nose to the ground ready to snuffle small items from the top few centimetres of soil, commonest being earthworms, insects, grubs and plant material.

Lamb mortality is routinely '20-30% globally including across the UK' [as highlighted in a report] and has 'remained stubbornly unchanging over the last 40 years'. The major causes are related to birth trauma, including central nervous system damage and endocrine and respiratory insufficiency.

Any one of these common conditions could result in hypothermia and malnutrition and cause the death of a lamb, but most die with multiple conditions, according to another study. In under 2% of lamb deaths, a wild predator may be a contributing factor, but not necessarily the significant factor.

Quality Meat Scotland, in 2021, expressed concerns that while many farmers were aware of good practice advice on husbandry and veterinary actions that reduce lamb mortality, 'advice was not consistently followed'.

The suggestion that actions on badgers could be effective is unfounded and wasting farmers’ time. Badgers are an integral part of a healthy landscape and a healthy farm.

We base what we state on science, not opinion. To blame badgers for the sharp declines in birds, bees and hedgehogs is incorrect and misleading.

The evidence demonstrates that the significant causes of catastrophic declines in wild species are our industrialised approaches to food production, construction, and travel. It’s human activity and practices that have wrecked delicately balanced ecosystems, poisoned, polluted and fragmented habitats, and decimated the wild food chain.

In the tiny, disconnected pockets of habitat that we’ve left for ground nesting birds, bees and hedgehogs, it’s inevitable that significant causes of further losses are trampling and predation of nests by livestock, and disturbance by people and domestic dogs.

Bovine TB is not an issue in cattle, or badgers in Scotland. APHA, together with farmers, have achieved bTB-free status for Scotland through maintaining a strong testing regime and early removal of infected cattle, which should be applauded.

On the occasions that bTB has been identified in a herd in Scotland it has been traced to importing an infected cow from a high-risk area outside Scotland.

Eddie Palmer, Chairman, Scottish Badgers.