Brian May claims he will be 'attacked' over shocking claims in new badger cull documentary: 'Costly mistake'
Brian May opened up about his stance on badger culling
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Brian May's latest BBC documentary is an authored, first-person piece which will follow May over a decade-long journey to understand the crisis caused by Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) and his opposition to the controversial badger cull, implemented to curb the spread of the disease in cattle.
May and his team of wildlife activists have continuously and passionately opposed the cull of badgers, even going as far as organising marches, protests, and a petition.
However, despite their best efforts, the cull in England began in 2013 and continues to this day, causing a divide between wildlife activists and farmers, whose livelihoods depend on the health of their cattle herds.
Under current laws, any cow testing positive for TB must be slaughtered, placing immense pressure on the agricultural community, which is something that May is standing up against in his new show.
Speaking about the upcoming show - which will air on August 23, on BBC Two, BBC Two Wales and BBC iPlayer at 9pm - May told Radio Times that many will be left "outraged" at the information he and his team have recovered.
He highlighted that viewers will see the "monumental failure" which has occurred at the hands of the British authorities and the "wasteful" slaughter of cows and badgers across the country.
Brian May has been making the upcoming documentary for over four years
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The documentary is set at Gatcombe Farm in Devon, with May and his team believing they have enough evidence to assert "confidently" that the idea that badgers are part of the reinfection process is unsupportable.
Speaking about the reaction he is preparing to receive, May added to Radio Times: "This documentary is the first time an alternative point of view has been presented to the public.
"Of course, our claims will be attacked and attempts will be made to discredit our views. But the public will decide, and history will eventually make its judgement.
"In pursuing the tragic badger cull, which has always been morally indefensible, we believe that science has made one of the biggest and most costly mistakes in history - hanging on to a policy that, in time, will be seen as no more effective than burning those unfortunate witches."
In the past, Jeremy Clarkson has slammed Brian May's stance on badger culling
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Speaking about the documentary to the BBC, May said: "I don't blame people for being suspicious of me in the beginning, because, you know, I'm a guitarist. You know I'm a rock star. What am I doing? Why would I have some contribution to make?
"I came in to save the badgers. I now realise that to save the badgers, you have to save everybody because it's a mess. It's a tragic human drama where people's hearts are broken."
Whilst May has been passionate about his defence of badgers, Diddly Squat farm owner Jeremy Clarkson has slammed May's support of the animal and branded them "b******s".
Speaking ahead of the Clarkson Farm series two launch, the former Top Gear presenter claimed that the threat of bovine tuberculosis to his cattle was one of the most difficult areas to cover on screen.
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Dear Brian May out of Queen. Look what some bastard badgers have done to my wall. pic.twitter.com/BHUkpwoceM
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) October 6, 2013
"We thought, 'What do we do?' because if you want to make a popular show you have to say, 'Oh, look at the little cuddly-wuddly badgers'," he told The Daily Mail.
"But I thought: no, it’s a farming show, and you’d lose your core audience, the farmers, if you went around, saying, 'Look at these sweet little animals'. So, I actually called them b******s and showed people what they actually do. It’s truthful.
"These are not nice animals. Do not be fooled by Brian May. This is what badgers do. This is how much heartache they’re causing to people who’ve worked for generations to build up a farm that’s been wiped out by badgers."
Clarkson previously hit out at the Queen guitarist over his defence of badgers, tweeting a photo of a collapsed wall in 2013 with the words: "Dear Brian May out of Queen. Look what some b*****d badgers have done to my wall."