BBC Countryfile presenter and farmer Adam Henson has done more than almost anyone else in the public eye to bring home the horrors of bovine TB to a general audience. And he has done it in a way that acknowledges the sensitivities of the issue, accepts that there are differing views on the best way to deal with the crisis, and put forward – clearly and with first-hand knowledge – the terrible cost of the disease, for livestock and for wildlife.

So for him to be targeted by so-called animal rights activists because they perceive that he has put forward a point of view that favours a badger cull illustrates how wrong-headed and how dangerous are those who operate at the fringes of animal extremism.

Wrong-headed because Mr Henson, who farms in Gloucestershire and whose rare-breed animals have succumbed to bovine TB, was scrupulously fair in reporting on the TB crisis. And dangerous because, while they may be in a minority, the very fact that these animal rights "terrorists" are prepared to make such threats in pursuit of their twisted aims raises the stakes in what is already a highly charged debate.

To its credit, the Badger Trust has already distanced itself from any suggestion that force or intimidation might be used against those who argue in favour of a cull to help reduce bovine TB in the badger population. Members of the trust will, we know, be horrified at the hate mail sent to Mr Henson and, in particular, the suggestion that his children could be a target. We hope the trust's leaders make it abundantly clear, repeatedly, to their members and to others, that condoning threats such as these is absolutely unacceptable and damages the very cause they seek to support.

But if this is the kind of language used by those despicable characters who believe it is right to attack people in support of animal "rights" what might happen if and when a cull is approved? If Defra and the police were concerned before about the risk that those carrying out the cull could become targets it must be doubly worried now, following these cowardly threats.

Yet ministers, who must know that they too might well face similar threats, have to stay resolute. One thing and one thing only matters here and that is bringing about a reduction in bovine TB in both wildlife and domestic stock.

Farmers are already bearing the brunt of the measures used to fight the disease. Their cattle are being culled and their lives and those of their families are constantly disrupted by tests. Valuable stock is being lost, taxpayers are footing the bill for compensation, yet one of the causes of the misery, infected badgers, cannot be controlled even if they are suffering too.

Now it is time for the wildlife lovers to do their bit and accept that, while no-one wants to see it, a badger cull is necessary for the general good of the countryside and the farm.

"There should be a middle ground between farmers and conservationists on tackling the bovine TB problem." said Mr Henson. He's right. Let's end the acrimony here and beat this crisis together.