BBC under fire as 'biased' Brian May documentary sparks 'impartiality' row
The BBC has come under fire as Queen legend Brian May has been branded a "blatant partisan" following his documentary investigating if badgers are the cause of bovine TB.
The hour long film, Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmer and Me, aired on BBC Two on Friday night and saw the acclaimed musician and scientist spending years investigating the causes of the disease, which blights farms and leads to cattle being destroyed, as he aimed to stop badger culling.
Following broadcast the Countryside Alliance contacted Express.co.uk vowing to "pursue a complaint" against the show and expressing their unhappiness with it.
In a statement which laid out their grievances they said: "As predicted, the BBC's badger cull documentary contained little more than the opinion of its presenter - Brian May. That the Corporation was pressured into adding a last minute cursory reference at the end to the very significant fact that TB had returned to Gatcombe Farm on three occasions, does nothing to constitute reasonable balance.
"From the outset, it was clear the BBC had made a huge error in permitting a blatant partisan to front a current affairs programme on such a sensitive and emotive issue. By doing so, it has failed in its stated commitment to impartiality. Regardless of the barriers the BBC may put in the way, we will be pursuing a complaint,” they insisted.
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Brian May's documentary Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me aired on BBC Two on Friday night (Image: BBC)Express.co.uk has contacted Brian May and the BBC for comment.
The first-person piece followed wildlife activist Brian through a decade long journey to understand the crisis caused by Bovine Tuberculosis.
His research was part of his fight to end the controversial badger cull, which was implemented to curb the spread of the disease in cattle.
At one point in the film he visited a farm in Devon run by Malcolm Huxtables, where cows were being skin tested to see if they were "reactive", and he admitted in voiceover it had "a profound effect" on him. Reactive cows have to be slaughtered and upon hearing the news one of his cows hadn't passed muster, Malcolm was left in tears.
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Brian conducted a four year experient at Gatcombe Farm in partnership with large mammal vet Dick Sibley and farm owner Robert Reed after the farm was chronically infected with bovine TB. They claim this is a groundbreaking four-year experiment which will eradicate the disease once and for all without harming badgers.
Supporters of the experient have claimed it is a success as the farm was declared TB-free without the culling of a single badger and Brian and the team believe that they have identified the real source of TB spread among cattle.
At the end of the documentary additional information about their efforts flashed on screen saying: "Gatcombe Farm has experienced three outbreaks within the past five years due to historic infection within the herd. The farm is currently TB free," it declared.
The last outbreak on the farm was seemingly in September 2023.
Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers and Me is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
BBC under fire as 'biased' Brian May documentary sparks 'impartiality' row
BBC under fire as 'biased' Brian May documentary sparks 'impartiality' row
BBC under fire as 'biased' Brian May documentary sparks 'impartiality' row
BBC under fire as 'biased' Brian May documentary sparks 'impartiality' row
BBC under fire as 'biased' Brian May documentary sparks 'impartiality' row
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