Queen guitarist Brian May’s Save Me Trust have reached out to Jeremy Clarkson amidst the bovine TB (bTB) outbreak on his farm despite the pairs feud over a disagreement about badger culling. When contacted by Express.co.uk the charity confirmed that Anne Brummer, who founded the charity with Brian back in 2009, had been in contact with Jeremy following his announcement his Cotswolds farm Diddly Squat, which is the subject of his Prime Video show Clarkson’s Farm, has been afflicted by a TB outbreak.
Jeremy admitted he was “devastated” by the news his farm had been hit by bTB. On July 31 he posted on X: “Bad news from Diddly Squat. We’ve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.”
Save Me has been investigating the causes of bTB for over a decade, actively researching and advocating for changes in the approach to managing the condition in cattle. They believe the current focus on badger culls is misplaced and that cattle-to-cattle transmission is a more significant factor in the spread of the disease. They have highlighted issues with the current skin test for bTB, claiming it’s not sensitive enough and can miss infected animals.
In 2024 Brian released a BBC documentary, Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me in an attempt to change public perception of the issue.
A controversial badger cull has been in place in the UK for the past 12 years though the government has pledged to end it by 2029.
Jeremy has made no secret of his disdain for badgers in the past joking on Clarkson’s Farm that they should be “hit on the head with a hammer” to protect his cattle.
Previously, Jeremy called Brian out in a tweet over a decade ago as he showed the damage badgers had caused to his farm.
Speaking to the Telegraph last year Brian said: “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. It’s laughable. But he’s got four million viewers on TV, so unfortunately, people are going to believe it.”
Despite their opposing views, Brian has no bad blood with the Top Gear host despite the latter’s previous scathing remarks.
“I would love to have a real heart-to-heart talk with Jeremy Clarkson. He has slagged me off, but I don’t really get into that,” he said in the chat.
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