passion project
Queen legend in shock career move as he signs up to front BBC documentary that will ‘outrage viewers’
The band recently sold their back catalogue for a record amount
QUEEN legend Sir Brian May is set to front a BBC documentary centred around badger culling.
The guitarist, 77, has been a long-time opponent of the practice, which is intended to help control disease spreading among cattle.
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Badger culling involves badgers being killed in specific areas in an attempt to reduce bovine tuberculosis (bTB).
Meanwhile, the one-off programme will also highlight Sir Brian's own work in the field of bTB and preventing it without needing badger culling.
Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers And Me, follows him on a four-year project to eradicate the disease.
Speaking about the documentary, Sir Brian said: "I don’t blame people for being suspicious of me in the beginning, because, you know, I’m a guitarist.
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"You know I’m a rock star. What am I doing? Why would I have some contribution to make?
Viewers will see Sir Brian team up with vet Dick Sibley and farmer Robert Reed – whose farm was chronically infected with bTB – to eliminate bTB without using badger culling.
Writing in , he said that the story “will outrage viewers more than anything" since the Post Office scandal was uncovered.
Sir Brian penned: "You’ll see the monumental failure of British authorities to deal with the terrible problem of bovine TB, and the tragically wasteful slaughter of cows and badgers.
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"Our findings, tracking years of research, are revolutionary and shocking – some will say heretical.
"I believe they’ll eventually turn farming practices upside down.
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"In the last 12 years, a quarter of a million badgers have been slaughtered, based on the belief that they spread TB among cattle.
"The testimony of farmers in my film is that this policy has utterly failed them.
"Rates of infection and consequent numbers of cows slaughtered are no better and, in some areas, worse than ever."
He added: “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.”
It comes as Sir Brian's iconic band Queen have sold their back catalogue to Sony Music for a record £1billion.
As part of this deal, the company is acquiring all of their studio records, featuring hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, I Want To Break Free, Another One Bites The Dust and Don’t Stop Me Now.
However, Queen’s agreement will not cover their live performances.
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Those rights are being retained by founding members Sir Brian and Roger Taylor who still tour as Queen with singer Adam Lambert.
Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers And Me will air on August 23 at 9pm on BBC Two.
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