:00:07. > :00:11.latest from Newsround. On the way....
:00:11. > :00:20.The controversial cull of badgers is set to begin.
:00:20. > :00:25.And is our seas clean enough to swim And Bradley Wiggins is ruled out of
:00:25. > :00:28.the Tour de France. First, the controversial cull of
:00:28. > :00:31.badgers. For some, they're a precious part of our country's
:00:31. > :00:33.wildlife. For others, they're a disease-carrying pest. Tomorrow, a
:00:33. > :00:36.six week trial will begin in Gloucestershire and Somerset with
:00:36. > :00:39.farmers licensed to shoot badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of
:00:39. > :00:48.bovine tuberculosis in cattle. But the plans have split opinion, as
:00:48. > :00:52.Nel's been finding out. They are a secretive, nocturnal
:00:52. > :00:59.species and a popular and protected British wild animal, but badgers
:00:59. > :01:02.have been blamed for the spread of Irvine to prognosis, or TB, a
:01:03. > :01:07.disease which has led to the slaughter of thousands of cattle
:01:07. > :01:12.which has cost the government millions in compensation. In an
:01:12. > :01:15.attempt to halt the spread of disease, the government are going to
:01:16. > :01:25.allow farmers in the south-west of England to kill 70% of the badger
:01:26. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :01:31.population. Other farmers have lost animals and that is devastating, not
:01:31. > :01:35.only for production but also the emotional impact. The only solution
:01:35. > :01:40.is a badger cull. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea but many
:01:40. > :01:50.farmers say it is the right thing to do. If you shoot them you make
:01:50. > :01:51.
:01:51. > :01:57.spread the disease. This is about trying to control bovine TB in cars
:01:57. > :02:07.and we would like to see a vaccine which would allow the cattle not to
:02:07. > :02:07.
:02:07. > :02:11.transfer the disease between themselves. Those against the plans
:02:11. > :02:17.are not backing down. It looks like the fight for this animal is not
:02:18. > :02:21.going away any time soon. In the last couple of minutes it has
:02:21. > :02:24.been reported that Bradley Wiggins has been road out of the Tour de
:02:24. > :02:29.France. People died of the Giro d'Italia with a chest infection
:02:29. > :02:33.earlier in the month and Team Sky says he has been ruled out of the
:02:33. > :02:38.Tour de France due to a knee injury. Mars, the next frontier of space
:02:38. > :02:41.travel. But if travelling 250 million miles, through space debris
:02:41. > :02:44.and solar flares wasn't tough enough, getting to the Red Planet
:02:44. > :02:46.now comes with a serious health risk! NASA has released data from
:02:46. > :02:49.their Curiosity rover's eight month journey to Mars. This shows
:02:49. > :02:51.astronauts would be exposed to damaging doses of radiation which
:02:52. > :02:55.could cause cancer, heart problems and memory loss.
:02:56. > :02:59.If the sun has got you thinking about a trip to the beach and dip in
:02:59. > :03:02.the sea, listen up. Last year, more than 40 of our beaches failed to
:03:02. > :03:06.meet the basic European standards for water quality, and the rules are
:03:06. > :03:12.set to get tougher. So what might the impact be for some of our
:03:12. > :03:16.seaside towns? If you're taking a stroll along the
:03:16. > :03:19.beach, you might find the sea looks pretty inviting for a quick dip. But
:03:19. > :03:25.the European Union are so worried about the quality of water on our
:03:25. > :03:28.beaches they're introducing stricter controls. Last year, 42 beaches
:03:28. > :03:31.across the UK failed to meet basic European water quality standards,
:03:31. > :03:34.according to the Marine Conservation Society. Although things have
:03:34. > :03:44.improved in the last 20 years, two beaches here in Blackpool failed to
:03:44. > :03:51.meet basic hygiene standards. problem is bacteria. That gets into
:03:51. > :03:56.the water. We get big problems when we have heavy rain. It hits our
:03:56. > :03:59.towns and hits farmland and washes bacteria into the water. The EU want
:03:59. > :04:03.to introduce a new system for rating beaches in 2015. This will rate
:04:03. > :04:06.beaches excellent, good, sufficient, or poor. The worst beaches will have
:04:06. > :04:09.signs telling people not to swim there. But some people are worried
:04:09. > :04:16.that these ratings will have a knock-on effect on businesses in
:04:16. > :04:20.towns like Blackpool, which depend on tourists visiting its beaches. If
:04:20. > :04:27.I were to say to you that the water quality was not good, would it stop
:04:27. > :04:33.you from swimming? It would be better. I would know it would be OK
:04:33. > :04:38.for my daughter to go in. Despite many spots needing a clean-up, 90%
:04:38. > :04:44.of the areas tested are safe for swimming. Just check with your
:04:44. > :04:47.parents before you dive in. And adventurer Nick Hancock has
:04:48. > :04:51.failed in an attempt to land on a tiny, rocky island and live there on
:04:51. > :04:54.his own for 60 days. Nick, who was on Newsround two weeks ago, is