Save our wildlife - Go vegan!

Urgent: Caroline Spelman. No to badger 'culling' in England!
Urgent: Welsh Assembly. After their defeat in the Appeal Court ask them to abandon any future plans to 'cull' badgers in Wales!
Urgent: Michelle Gildernew. No to badger 'culling' in Northern Ireland!

Badgers are under threat across the United Kingdom. They are the scapegoats of failed agricultural policy and political backslapping. Going against solid scientific advice the Welsh Assembly may try and forge ahead with new plans to kill badgers, despite their recent defeat in the Appeal Court battle with The Badger Trust. This will be a wildlife massacre and for nothing. The Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition have previously pledged their support for badger 'culling in England (but may be put off by the scuppering of The Welsh Assembly's plans), and now Northern Ireland is considering a 'cull' despite having the lowest incidence of the disease. The largest report into bovine TB found that badger 'culling' would actually make the situation worse by displacing surviving badgers. It is not too late to try and make them see sense!

• Don't eat meat or dairy - animal agriculture is at the root of the badger's plight. Click here to find out how to ditch them!
   
• Click here for your free badger door-dropper leaflets. For bigger numbers of leaflets for stalls and other uses please email liam@viva.org.uk. Spread the word!
   
• Join our dedicated Welsh and English Facebook groups to fight badger 'culling'!

• Protest!: organise you own peaceful protest in Wales. We can send you free materials (see above), we just need you to take the message to the people. Also, below are people who are organising events to raise awareness in Wales. Please get in touch with them directly if you can spare time to help:
  
  Save the Badger: umbrella group for those campaigning for badgers in Wales and against the 'cull'. Website
  
  Pembrokeshire against the cull: group on the ground where the 'cull' is planned. Website
  
  North Pembrokeshire (where the 'cull' is planned):  Adrian Stallwood and Monica Fernandez. 01437 731604 / monica.adrian@btinternet.com
  
  Dyfed (covers Pembrokeshire): Badger Watch and Rescue Dyfed. Gorden Lumby. 01570 480571 / g.lumby@btopenworld.com
  
  North Wales: Judi Hewitt. 07789 156022 / judi.nowar@homecall.co.uk
  
  Cardiff (South Wales): Lorraine Parker. 07948 069504 / lorraineparker31@hotmail.com
   
• Read George Monbiot’s recent attack on the destruction of wildlife to protect financial interests here.
   
• Viva! needs your support. Please donate to our campaign and help us stop the misery of factory farming and the destruction of our wildlife. Join Viva! if you are not already a supporter.
   
• Please write a polite letter to Elin Jones AM, the Minister for Rural Affairs (whether you live in Wales or not!):
  
  Elin Jones AM
  National Assembly for Wales
  Cardiff Bay
  Cardiff
  CF99 1NA
  
  Or email: elin.jones@wales.gov.uk
  
   using the following sample letter:
  
  "Dear Minister
  
  As a citizen of the UK I was extremely disappointed to hear that might be considering pressing ahead with a pilot badger 'cull' in Wales. This despite the recent ruling by the Appeal Court. Especially as, according to Defra figures, there was a drop in TB case in Wales between 2008 and 2009 - all without killing badgers.
  
  This move to slaughter goes against the advice of the largest ever study into the spread of bovine TB which found that 'culling' badgers would have no meaningful impact on the spread of the disease - and would actually make it worse. The real culprit is bad farming practices. Despite intensive culling of badgers in the Republic of Ireland the proportion of infected herds has remained largely constant since 'culling' intensified in 2002. Whereas, Northern Ireland has virtually halved infection, through effective cattle controls without badger 'culling'. I urge you to follow Northern Ireland's lead and call off the pilot 'cull' - it will achieve nothing, only needlessly cost the lives of wild animals and tarnish the reputation of Wales.
  
  Whilst a 'cull' in Wales is still on the cards, I am also joining in a boycott of all Welsh dairy products. As the average family spends over £600 a year on dairy, this could cost the industry dear. It is a decision I will only reconsider once the killing of Welsh wildlife has stopped.
  
  I look forward to your response.
  
  Yours sincerely"
   
• Please also write a polite letter to Wales' Chief Vet, Christianne Glossop, who is fronting the Bovine TB Eradication Programme Board (we do not currently have an email address for her):
  
  Dr Christianne Glossop
  Chief Veterinary Officer
  Welsh Assembly Government
  Cathays Park
  Cardiff CF10 3NQ
  
  "Dear Dr Glossop
  
  As a citizen of the UK I was extremely disappointed to hear that might be considering pressing ahead with a pilot badger 'cull' in Wales. This despite the recent ruling by the Appeal Court. Especially as, according to Defra figures, there was a drop in TB case in Wales between 2008 and 2009 - all without killing badgers.
  
  The 'cull' goes against the advice of the largest ever study into the spread of bovine TB, which found that 'culling' badgers would have no meaningful impact on the spread of the disease - and would actually make it worse. The real culprits are bad farming practices and the movement of millions of cattle around the UK each year.
  
  Despite being promoted as a 'short term fix', badgers could be wiped out in certain parts of Wales if a large scale 'cull' were to go ahead, and you have admitted that even in 2018 "the end game will not necessarily be in sight" for bovine TB. This 'cull' could last into the 2030s. It will achieve nothing, only needlessly cost the lives of thousands of wild animals and tarnish the reputation of Wales.
  
  Whilst a 'cull' in Wales is still on the cards, I am also joining in a boycott of all Welsh dairy products. As the average family spends over £600 a year on dairy, this could cost the industry dear. It is a decision I will only reconsider once the killing of Welsh wildlife has stopped.
  
  Please use your influence to stop the needless slaughter of Welsh wildlife. I look forward to your response.
  
  Yours sincerely"
  
   
• Write to Caroline Spelman, Defra Secretary
  
  Storm clouds are gathering for English badgers. Previously, both the leader of the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have pledged to carry out 'culling' of badgers if they came to power at the next election. However, since that came to pass, rather than launch straight into a disastrous 'cull', the new head of Defra has ordered a review of the scientific evidence. Therefore, it is vital that we contact her and urge the new Government to go with the bulk of science that shows that killing badgers won't stop bovine TB. The recent ruling in the Appeal Courts to quash the 'cull' in Wales is important, as that is likely to have a knock-on effect in England. Please use the letter below as a basis to politely contact her.
  
  Caroline Spelman
  Defra Secretary
  Defra
  Nobel House
  17 Smith Square
  London SW1P 3JR
  
  helpline@defra.gsi.gov.uk (note: use this email address from now on. She does not have her own Ministerial address and emails are being sent back from her constituency address saying they will only answer constituency business (even though that is what Defra told us to do!). Put in email header: FAO Caroline Spelman, Defra Secretary re: coalition badger 'culling' policy
   
  "Dear Minister

   

  I was pleased to hear that the new coalition government is not pressing ahead with an immediate 'cull' of badgers in England. And I welcome the fact that a review of the science is being undertaken before decisions are made as to what future policy will be in this regard.

   

  I do understand that the NFU, and other farming bodies, have been lobbying hard to force 'culling' back onto the political agenda in England, but their efforts are very much misguided. The bottom line is that at best a 'cull' will do nothing - but will cost the lives of untold wild animals - but at the worst it will actually spread the disease further. Also, the most recent Defra figures show that there has been a drop in Total New Herd Incidents across the UK, down by 438 in 2009 compared to 2008. This shows that current methods that do no include the killing of wildlife are working.

   

  Plus, the recent defeat of the Welsh Assembly's plans to kill badgers in Wales by the Appeal Court shows that English plans could very well suffer the same fate. A drop of just 9 per cent in TB, as highlighted by the case, is not enough to justify the slaughter of thousands of wild animals. It also clearly shows the crux of the problem lies elsewhere.

   

  Please also reconsider the findings of the government initiated Independent Scientific Group (ISG) on bovine TB - the largest review of science undertaken so far. The final report by the ISG categorically stated that "badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain". The ISG found that weaknesses in cattle testing and the movement of cattle were the keys to the spread of TB.

   

  Recently, a survey by Imperial College and Zoological Society of London found that a 'cull' would not work, and that managing badger populations to stop them spreading TB to cattle cost more than the impact of the disease itself. In February 2010, ex-senior scientific adviser to the UK government, Dr Chris Cheeseman, called the on-going 'trial cull' in Wales "perverse", and said the decision "flies in the face of the science". In an article in the journal Science in Parliament, Lord Krebs, who founded the original badger 'cull' trials, said improved cattle testing and incentives to keep badgers away from livestock would cost less than a cull and are as likely to work. Finally, the news is now emerging that the Republic of Ireland is intent on abandoning badger 'culling' as a way of tackling bovine TB. Clearly, a policy to kill badgers to tackle the disease is the wrong one.

   

  As you may know, 95 per cent of the people who responded to the Defra public consultation on badger 'culling' in England were opposed to a 'cull'. The killing of badgers will be deeply unpopular with the people of England, and that in itself could be damaging politically. It could also be damaging financially, as it is likely to lead to a boycott of English dairy products; mirroring the one that is currently running in Wales.

   

  Whilst snaring and gassing have been previously ruled out as 'culling' methods, caging will still cause considerable stress to animals and could leave orphaned badgers cubs. The ISG report also found the incidences of baby badgers dying in setts after their parents had been killed by outside traps was increasing.

   

  Any badger 'cull' will also cost huge amounts of money and cause untold misery for our wildlife - and according to the ISG will not work.

   

  The decision by Hilary Benn not to 'cull' badgers in England was the right one - and it is one that took considerable political courage to take. I hope you can find similar courage to do the right thing and say no to killing British wildlife.

   

  Yours sincerely"

  
   

• Stop the 'cull' in Northern Ireland
  
  If there was one place where you would think that badgers would be safe it would be Northern Ireland (NI). The incidence of bovine TB (bTB) is lower there than anywhere in the UK, and lower than in the Republic of Ireland. Levels of bTB in NI cattle fell by 50 per cent between 2002-07 - this was achieved without killing any badgers by using effective cattle control methods. However, despite ruling out (at least in the meantime) a widespread 'cull' in NI, unbelievably, the Minister of Agriculture, Michelle Gildernew, is now considering carrying out a limited 'cull' of badgers. This is to ostensibly test for the prevalence of bTB in the badger population, even though many badgers killed on the road are currently tested. Reportedly, it is not being called a 'cull' because 'only' a thousand badgers are to be killed! If you have already received a reply stating that badgers are not going to die in NI, it appears that DARD (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) are being disingenuous. See our amended suggested letter below, and write again!
  
  Wherever you live, please help us change her mind before more wild animals die on the altar of agricultural folly.

  Use the letter below as a template (or even better create your own).

  Send polite messages to:

  Michelle Gildernew
  Minister of Agriculture
  Room 337
  Parliament Buildings
  Belfast BT4 3XX
  
  Or email: private.office@dardni.gov.uk
  Or fax: 02890524170

  "Dear Minister Gildernew

  Whilst I welcome the news that you have not proposed a mass 'cull' of badgers in NI, I was extremely disappointed to hear that you are still considering killing up to a thousand badgers as part of a prevalence study of bTB in these animals.

  Despite calling this a 'badger intervention' it is clear that it is a 'cull' under another name. This prevalence study is especially unwarranted, as a great deal of information about TB and badgers is already available through the ongoing DARD study of badgers killed on the road, as well as previous 'culling' trials in the Irish Republic and Great Britain. According the the Northern Ireland Badger Group, only 17 per cent of badgers in NI are infected with TB - this means that over 800 healthy badgers will be killed during this study. It is also rumoured that these badgers will be caught using wire snares, which are incredibly cruel. Please reassure me that this will not be the case.

  This badger intervention policy is folly - and will presumably be a very costly folly. I can't believe that tax payers in NI wish this to go ahead.

  Plus, the recent defeat of the Welsh Assembly's plans to kill badgers in Wales by the Appeal Court shows that plans in NI could very well suffer the same fate. A drop of just 9 per cent in TB, as highlighted by the case, is not enough to justify the slaughter of thousands of wild animals. It also clearly shows the crux of the problem lies elsewhere.

  Badgers are not to blame for the bTB crisis. You said yourself, ". we do not know with any certainty the extent to which badgers contribute to the incidence of TB in cattle." However, the largest study ever undertaken into the issue - the Independent Scientific Group's report - stated categorically that 'culling' badgers would make no meaningful contribution to controlling the spread of the disease - and could make things worse. NI has shown the way in recent years in sensibly tackling bTB through the main vector - cattle-to-cattle transmission. The reduction of 50 per cent (between 2002-07) of bTB in cattle is encouraging - and all without killing wildlife.

  It is also madness to begin killing wildlife, even in a limited way, when there are issues left unaddressed within farming. The NI Audit Office's report, The Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in NI (March 2009), highlighted several areas for future improvement in the fight against bTB  - but was firmly against badger 'culling'. The report blames inadequate boundary fencing and poor on-farm bio-security; the failure of farmers to take part in training to limit the spread of disease and increase their bio-security knowledge; failure to implement pre-movement testing; and failure to tackle potentially widespread non-compliance by farmers, and insufficient fines to discourage future fraud.

  Whilst these issues remain unaddressed in NI, I would suggest that your department's efforts are better served tackling these problems - as well as fast tracking vaccination for both badgers and cattle. Killing a thousand badgers for a prevalence study is pointless and cruel. Please say no to the needless slaughter of NI wildlife.

  Yours sincerely"