Brian May to front BBC documentary against badger culling

Brian May is to front a BBC documentary as he campaigns for a change in approach to badger culling.

The lead guitarist of Queen will front one-off special The Badger Cull and Me.

Brian is an outspoken critic of the practice of culling the badger population in the UK, a measure employed to combat the spread of bovine TB. He firmly believes that these animals are unjustly scapegoated and sacrificed.

Brian’s wildlife trust has been at the forefront, sponsoring a comprehensive research program to investigate the true causes of this disease. Brian is now confident that he possesses the evidence needed to substantiate his theory, halt the culling, and contribute to finding a solution for afflicted cattle.

Produced by Athena Films, this documentary will trail the rock star as he takes his argument to a sceptical farming community, endeavouring to convince enough of them to support his groundbreaking proposals.

Brian said: “I come from a position where I think it’s immoral to be killing badgers, I’ll be upfront about that. But if you’re a farmer and you believe that the badgers are infecting your cattle, you can understand why they would want to kill them. It’s very understandable.

“And what happened historically is that you get total polarisation. You get the farmers over here who are perhaps understandably resentful against the badger because they believe it’s the source of all their problems. And you get animal campaigners over here very resentful of the farmers. But you realise in the end that shouting doesn’t do anyone any good because everybody’s trying to solve the problem. So I thought, well, let’s try and come together to to solve this problem.”

Julian Carey, BBC Wales commissioning editor, added: “This is a programme produced over four years telling the complex story behind the headlines – where farmers have been left ruined by bovine TB and yet there is still so much debate over how to combat it effectively.

“Brian has been a standard bearer for the animal rights movement and this film sees him trying to bring both sides of the debate together to find the best solution for the animals and the farmers.”

A release date and broadcast details are to be announced.