News
Staff Member
Original article from wildlife extra dot com:
"A photograph printed in a weekly farming publication of cows and badgers together in broad daylight alongside stories about bovine TB could have ‘misled’ the public into thinking this kind of interaction was normal, according to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
A complaint was made against Farmers Weekly for using the photograph – which has also been used in other publications – in such a way that the public could have been led to the conclusion that badgers were constantly in direct contact with cattle, and thus were to blame for bovine TB (bTB). After the PCC contacted the publication it agreed to offer a clarification that the photo was not taken on a farm.
Jude Walker, from Gloucestershire Against Badger Shooting (GABS), said the photograph was taken 25 years ago in a wildlife sanctuary when the rescued badger was being re-acquainted with outdoor life. Normally badgers and cows would rarely meet in daylight. Even at night they would rarely have nose-to-nose contact as in the photograph.
“I made the complaint because the use of this picture would clearly lead people to think that contact between badgers and cattle like this were commonplace, when they are not,” said Jude. “Those in favour of the cull constantly use the argument that badgers pass on bTB to cattle – and this photograph is practically saying, ‘and this shows it’. The truth is that the photo shows nothing of the kind.”
Dominic Dyer, of the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild, said: “An image can speak a thousand words, and this image was used to say ‘badgers are guilty’. In reality, the real problem for farmers is the failure of the bTB test, which misses around one in every five infected cows. That means sick cows are left in the herd, and can be infecting other cows all their lives without detection.
“That’s why this disease is staying alive, and that’s why apparently ‘closed’ herds are suddenly discovered with infection. The focus of this whole debate needs to move onto the testing regime, which Defra itself has said is ‘imperfect’. Combine more accurate TB testing with a national badger and cattle TB vaccination programme and we will win the battle against this disease, in a way which is good for both the future of our farmers and wildlife.”
The Clarification read:
‘Farmers Weekly would like to clarify that this photograph showing badgers in a field in daylight with cattle was taken in a captive environment, at the Secret World Wildlife Centre, Highbridge, Somerset in 1989 and not on a farm.
The picture was purchased from a south west picture agency several years ago and used in innocence to illustrate coverage about Bovine TB. It was never our intention to mislead readers. This clarification follows a complaint made to the Press Complaints Commission."
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The link from the article leads to the FW site photo that now carries the clarification:
"Farmers Weekly would like to clarify that this photograph showing badgers in a field in daylight with cattle was taken in a captive environment, at the Secret World Wildlife Centre, Highbridge, Somerset in 1989 and not on a farm.
The picture was purchased from a south west picture agency several years ago and used in innocence to illustrate coverage about Bovine TB
It was never our intention to mislead readers."
This clarification follows a complaint made to the Press Complaints Commission.
Link: http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/21/05/2014/144633/clarification.htm
"A photograph printed in a weekly farming publication of cows and badgers together in broad daylight alongside stories about bovine TB could have ‘misled’ the public into thinking this kind of interaction was normal, according to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
A complaint was made against Farmers Weekly for using the photograph – which has also been used in other publications – in such a way that the public could have been led to the conclusion that badgers were constantly in direct contact with cattle, and thus were to blame for bovine TB (bTB). After the PCC contacted the publication it agreed to offer a clarification that the photo was not taken on a farm.
Jude Walker, from Gloucestershire Against Badger Shooting (GABS), said the photograph was taken 25 years ago in a wildlife sanctuary when the rescued badger was being re-acquainted with outdoor life. Normally badgers and cows would rarely meet in daylight. Even at night they would rarely have nose-to-nose contact as in the photograph.
“I made the complaint because the use of this picture would clearly lead people to think that contact between badgers and cattle like this were commonplace, when they are not,” said Jude. “Those in favour of the cull constantly use the argument that badgers pass on bTB to cattle – and this photograph is practically saying, ‘and this shows it’. The truth is that the photo shows nothing of the kind.”
Dominic Dyer, of the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild, said: “An image can speak a thousand words, and this image was used to say ‘badgers are guilty’. In reality, the real problem for farmers is the failure of the bTB test, which misses around one in every five infected cows. That means sick cows are left in the herd, and can be infecting other cows all their lives without detection.
“That’s why this disease is staying alive, and that’s why apparently ‘closed’ herds are suddenly discovered with infection. The focus of this whole debate needs to move onto the testing regime, which Defra itself has said is ‘imperfect’. Combine more accurate TB testing with a national badger and cattle TB vaccination programme and we will win the battle against this disease, in a way which is good for both the future of our farmers and wildlife.”
The Clarification read:
‘Farmers Weekly would like to clarify that this photograph showing badgers in a field in daylight with cattle was taken in a captive environment, at the Secret World Wildlife Centre, Highbridge, Somerset in 1989 and not on a farm.
The picture was purchased from a south west picture agency several years ago and used in innocence to illustrate coverage about Bovine TB. It was never our intention to mislead readers. This clarification follows a complaint made to the Press Complaints Commission."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The link from the article leads to the FW site photo that now carries the clarification:
"Farmers Weekly would like to clarify that this photograph showing badgers in a field in daylight with cattle was taken in a captive environment, at the Secret World Wildlife Centre, Highbridge, Somerset in 1989 and not on a farm.
The picture was purchased from a south west picture agency several years ago and used in innocence to illustrate coverage about Bovine TB
It was never our intention to mislead readers."
This clarification follows a complaint made to the Press Complaints Commission.
Link: http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/21/05/2014/144633/clarification.htm