Queen’s Brian May rows with Jeremy Clarkson over badger cull: “He doesn’t know – it’s laughable”
nme.comQueen’s Brian May has spoken out about Jeremy Clarkson’s views over the UK badger cull, saying that his stance on the matter is “laughable”.The comments from the Queen guitarist come as he is hosting a one-off BBC documentary about his work in the field of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and how to prevent it without resorting to badger culling.Under current laws, any cow that tests positive for bovine TB must be destroyed, and the spread of the disease is widely reported as being stemmed from badgers.May has been a long-time opponent of badger culling and the documentary, Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers And Me, follows him on a four-year project to eradicate the disease – which can devastate cattle populations – without harming the badgers.His views are opposed by former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, however, who has previously documented his struggles with badgers on his Amazon Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm, highlighting how the animals can damage property and also spread bovine tuberculosis to cattle.He also joked on his Amazon Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm that badgers should be “hit on the head with a hammer” to protect his cattle (as per GB News), and later told The Daily Mail: “These are not nice animals.
Do not be fooled by Brian May.”The differing opinions have led to the two butting heads as far back as in 2013, and now May has publicly called out Clarkson for being “on the wrong side”.“I don’t think it’s Jeremy Clarkson’s fault because he doesn’t know, he’s a newcomer to this situation, but he’s been advised by someone who’s telling him that bovine TB can be passed by a cow sniffing a badger’s breath.
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