Brian May has announced that he will host a new BBC show titled The Badgers, The Farmers And Me. Reflecting on his commitment to wildlife conservation, May stated, “I now realize that to save the badgers, you have to save everybody.”
By Website Content Manager
Brian May’s new show will focus on his four-year effort to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from a farm while protecting the badgers. The program showcases the Queen guitarist’s dedication to finding a solution that balances animal welfare with disease control.
Brian May will host a BBC show titled Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers And Me, which delves into his efforts to combat bovine tuberculosis (bTB), a serious disease affecting cattle. The Queen guitarist has long opposed the contentious practice of badger culling, traditionally used to control the spread of bTB. The show focuses on a four-year project where May aims to eliminate the disease while preserving the badger population.
Reflecting on his role, May notes, “I don’t blame people for being suspicious of me in the beginning, because, you know, I’m a guitarist. I’m a rock star. What could I possibly contribute?”
May reflects, “I came in to save the badgers. I now realize 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.”
In the show, May collaborates with vet Dick Sibley and farmer Robert Reed, whose farm has been chronically affected by bTB, to clear the property of the disease while protecting the badger population. May aims to demonstrate to the broader farming community that he has identified the “real source” of bTB transmission and to advocate for policy changes based on his findings.
May, who co-founded the Save Me Trust in 2009, has previously stated that Queen will not perform at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival due to the festival’s host, Michael Eavis, supporting the badger cull. “We won’t [play Glastonbury] and there are a lot of reasons for that,” May explained last year. “One of them is that Michael Eavis has frequently insulted me, and I don’t particularly enjoy that. What bothers me more is that he’s in favor of the badger cull.”