Lying about the cull being based on science and misleading public about profits

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Elizabetn Thirsk

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

You say here the cull is based on assumptions: "Piloting industry-led controlled shooting of badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2013 as a method of controlling TB in cattle was considered worthwhile to test assumptions around effectiveness, humaneness and safety and to improve our understanding of the potential long term cost-effectiveness of the approach. "
Why have you lied to the public about the cull being based on science and evidence? Legally should you have misled the public?

"The total monetised benefits are estimated to be around £0.52m-£3.92m per area over eleven years, with a central estimate of £2.2m. This is based on the results of the RBCT."
Why is the total monetised benefits based on results from 2005 and before? This is purposefully misleading. What are the actual figures of all monetised benefits for every single year since 2013? Answers required in total amounts per year broken down into each area. Does anyone who works for DEFRA benefit in any way whatsoever from the Badger cull?

Yours faithfully,

Elizabeth Thirsk

SM-Defra-Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs



Thank you for your email to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural
Affairs.  

Please read through the guidance below which may be relevant to your
enquiry. 

General enquiries 

We have a target of replying to emails within 20 working days where a
response is required, and 20 working days where a case is handled under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.  

Please be aware that we received a high volume of correspondence during
the Covid- 19 outbreak and are working through the backlog of cases. This
may mean a significant delay in response times. 

You may find the information you need is available on GOV.UK:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

If your enquiry is related to COVID- 19, you may also find the information
you need on GOV.UK
[2]https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...
 

Campaigns  

We receive thousands of identical emails each month from organised
campaigns. Ministers and officials are made aware of these campaigns but
unfortunately, we cannot reply to each email individually.  

Postal enquiries  

As most of our staff are currently working from home, there may be
significant delays in responding to postal requests. Where possible,
please send your correspondence electronically and include the email
address you wish us to respond to.  

Reporting dead birds 

If you find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or other dead wild
birds, such as gulls or birds of prey, you should report them to the Defra
helpline on 03459 33 55 77. Helpline opening hours are Monday to Friday
8:30am to 5pm. 

Further information can be found via the link:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influe...

Please note, we do not pass on the details of dead bird reports to the
relevant authority, and will not respond to reports sent to this mailbox. 

Notifiable animal diseases 

If you suspect a notifiable animal disease or have animal welfare
concerns, please report these to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
immediately. Failure to report a notifiable animal disease is an offence.
APHA can be contacted using the following details: 

England: 03000 200301 or [4][email address

Wales: 03003 038268 or [5][email address

Scotland: [6][email address

Interviews, university work and work experience 

The Department receives many requests for interviews, participation in
university work and work experience. Unfortunately, given resource
constraints and time pressures, we are unable to fulfil such requests and
will not respond to these emails. 

We recommend you visit the GOV.UK website and examine the material
available there. If after having examined this you still have specific,
targeted questions, please let us know and we shall endeavour to answer
them.  

Defra no longer runs a central placement scheme. We now advise all
applicants to write to their local offices requesting a placement as they
are arranged locally between student and prospective line manager:
[7]https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/findin...

Additionally, work experience for 18 to 24 year old’s will be advertised
on the Job Centre Plus website
[8]https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus 

Emergencies  

If you or someone you are contacting us on behalf of are currently at risk
of serious harm or in a life-threatening situation, please contact the
emergency services:  

999 for emergencies  

101 non-emergency police line 

111- NHS 

 

Best wishes,  

Ministerial Contact Unit  

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) This email and
any attachments is intended for the named recipient only. If you have
received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose, store or copy
any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems. Communications on Defra's computer systems
may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the
system and for other lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...
3. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influe...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[email address]
7. https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/findin...
8. https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus

Defra Information Rights Team,

Dear Elizabetn Thirsk,

Thank you for your email which we received on the 4 June requesting
information.

We aim to answer your request no later than 2nd July, which is 20 working
days from the date we received it. If we are unable to meet this deadline
we will contact you to explain the reason.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact us.

Yours sincerely

Marie Davies

Information Rights Team

[email address]

Defra Information Rights Team,

1 Attachment

Dear Elizabeth Thirsk,

Please find attached the response to your request of 4th June for
information on Bovine TB and the Cull being based on science.

Yours sincerely

Jo Collinge

Information Rights Team

[email address]

Elizabetn Thirsk

Dear Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs's handling of my FOI request 'Lying about the cull being based on science and misleading public about profits'.

The science says culling doesn't work, this is your own data that you intentionally ignore.
You are lying, misleading farmers and the public at a huge cost to badgers and tax payers. You are cherrypicking these 2 figures of 66% and 33% as a standard response when it is not the case.
I do not belive that there is no way to accurately say how much profits are made from our tax money. I require an accurate answer as to how much tax money cull companies profit.

You cannot base everything on a small scale random cull that was modelled completely wrong, resulting in over 140000 protected species slaughtered and millions in profits to the cull companies who are the industry you are listening to. There is a huge conflict of interest, people too close to intensive farming. How dare you say culling is working when it is not. You ignore your own data that proves you wrong and cherrypick little bits to distract and lie to us all, why? This is wrong. This needs an internal review by someone not associated with farming.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Elizabeth Thirsk

SM-Defra-Helpline, Defra (MCU), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs



Thank you for your email to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural
Affairs.  

Please read through the guidance below which may be relevant to your
enquiry. 

General enquiries 

We have a target of replying to emails within 20 working days where a
response is required, and 20 working days where a case is handled under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.  

Please be aware that we received a high volume of correspondence during
the Covid- 19 outbreak and are working through the backlog of cases. This
may mean a significant delay in response times. 

You may find the information you need is available on GOV.UK:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

If your enquiry is related to COVID- 19, you may also find the information
you need on GOV.UK
[2]https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...
 

Campaigns  

We receive thousands of identical emails each month from organised
campaigns. Ministers and officials are made aware of these campaigns but
unfortunately, we cannot reply to each email individually.  

Postal enquiries  

As most of our staff are currently working from home, there may be
significant delays in responding to postal requests. Where possible,
please send your correspondence electronically and include the email
address you wish us to respond to.  

Reporting dead birds 

If you find dead wild waterfowl (swans, geese or ducks) or other dead wild
birds, such as gulls or birds of prey, you should report them to the Defra
helpline on 03459 33 55 77. Helpline opening hours are Monday to Friday
8:30am to 5pm. 

Further information can be found via the link:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influe...

Please note, we do not pass on the details of dead bird reports to the
relevant authority, and will not respond to reports sent to this mailbox. 

Notifiable animal diseases 

If you suspect a notifiable animal disease or have animal welfare
concerns, please report these to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
immediately. Failure to report a notifiable animal disease is an offence.
APHA can be contacted using the following details: 

England: 03000 200301 or [4][email address

Wales: 03003 038268 or [5][email address

Scotland: [6][email address

Interviews, university work and work experience 

The Department receives many requests for interviews, participation in
university work and work experience. Unfortunately, given resource
constraints and time pressures, we are unable to fulfil such requests and
will not respond to these emails. 

We recommend you visit the GOV.UK website and examine the material
available there. If after having examined this you still have specific,
targeted questions, please let us know and we shall endeavour to answer
them.  

Defra no longer runs a central placement scheme. We now advise all
applicants to write to their local offices requesting a placement as they
are arranged locally between student and prospective line manager:
[7]https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/findin...

Additionally, work experience for 18 to 24 year old’s will be advertised
on the Job Centre Plus website
[8]https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus 

Emergencies  

If you or someone you are contacting us on behalf of are currently at risk
of serious harm or in a life-threatening situation, please contact the
emergency services:  

999 for emergencies  

101 non-emergency police line 

111- NHS 

 

Best wishes,  

Ministerial Contact Unit  

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) This email and
any attachments is intended for the named recipient only. If you have
received it in error you have no authority to use, disclose, store or copy
any of its contents and you should destroy it and inform the sender.
Whilst this email and associated attachments will have been checked for
known viruses whilst within Defra systems we can accept no responsibility
once it has left our systems. Communications on Defra's computer systems
may be monitored and/or recorded to secure the effective operation of the
system and for other lawful purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
2. https://www.gov.uk/search/guidance-and-r...
3. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/avian-influe...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[email address]
7. https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/findin...
8. https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus

Defra Information Rights Team,

1 Attachment

Dear Elizabeth Thirsk,

Please find attached the response to your request for an internal review
of 25th June for information on Bovine TB and the Cull being based on
science.

Yours sincerely

Jo Collinge

Information Rights Team

[email address]