31/05/2013 Newsround

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The controversial cull of badgers is set to begin.

And is our seas clean enough to swim And Bradley Wiggins is ruled out of

the Tour de France. First, the controversial cull of

badgers. For some, they're a precious part of our country's

wildlife. For others, they're a disease-carrying pest. Tomorrow, a

six week trial will begin in Gloucestershire and Somerset with

farmers licensed to shoot badgers in an attempt to stop the spread of

bovine tuberculosis in cattle. But the plans have split opinion, as

Nel's been finding out. They are a secretive, nocturnal

species and a popular and protected British wild animal, but badgers

have been blamed for the spread of Irvine to prognosis, or TB, a

disease which has led to the slaughter of thousands of cattle

which has cost the government millions in compensation. In an

attempt to halt the spread of disease, the government are going to

allow farmers in the south-west of England to kill 70% of the badger

population. Other farmers have lost animals and that is devastating, not

only for production but also the emotional impact. The only solution

is a badger cull. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea but many

farmers say it is the right thing to do. If you shoot them you make

spread the disease. This is about trying to control bovine TB in cars

and we would like to see a vaccine which would allow the cattle not to

transfer the disease between themselves. Those against the plans

are not backing down. It looks like the fight for this animal is not

going away any time soon. In the last couple of minutes it has

been reported that Bradley Wiggins has been road out of the Tour de

France. People died of the Giro d'Italia with a chest infection

earlier in the month and Team Sky says he has been ruled out of the

Tour de France due to a knee injury. Mars, the next frontier of space

travel. But if travelling 250 million miles, through space debris

and solar flares wasn't tough enough, getting to the Red Planet

now comes with a serious health risk! NASA has released data from

their Curiosity rover's eight month journey to Mars. This shows

astronauts would be exposed to damaging doses of radiation which

could cause cancer, heart problems and memory loss.

If the sun has got you thinking about a trip to the beach and dip in

the sea, listen up. Last year, more than 40 of our beaches failed to

meet the basic European standards for water quality, and the rules are

set to get tougher. So what might the impact be for some of our

seaside towns? If you're taking a stroll along the

beach, you might find the sea looks pretty inviting for a quick dip. But

the European Union are so worried about the quality of water on our

beaches they're introducing stricter controls. Last year, 42 beaches

across the UK failed to meet basic European water quality standards,

according to the Marine Conservation Society. Although things have

improved in the last 20 years, two beaches here in Blackpool failed to

meet basic hygiene standards. problem is bacteria. That gets into

the water. We get big problems when we have heavy rain. It hits our

towns and hits farmland and washes bacteria into the water. The EU want

to introduce a new system for rating beaches in 2015. This will rate

beaches excellent, good, sufficient, or poor. The worst beaches will have

signs telling people not to swim there. But some people are worried

that these ratings will have a knock-on effect on businesses in

towns like Blackpool, which depend on tourists visiting its beaches. If

I were to say to you that the water quality was not good, would it stop

you from swimming? It would be better. I would know it would be OK

for my daughter to go in. Despite many spots needing a clean-up, 90%

of the areas tested are safe for swimming. Just check with your

parents before you dive in. And adventurer Nick Hancock has

failed in an attempt to land on a tiny, rocky island and live there on

his own for 60 days. Nick, who was on Newsround two weeks ago, is