The new coalition government cannot make up its mind whether it is going to kill badgers in England or not, but considering it has been enshrined in their coalition manifestio it is safe to presume that they may try despite the High Court ruling against the Welsh Assembly's plans in Wales. We must fight any future decision to cull, so we will be watching development very carefully. Read our press statement here and contact the new Defra secretary using our prepared email here.
In July 2010, The Badger Trust have managed to stop the Welsh Assembly's plans to kill badgers in Wales! This is fantastic news, but it may not be the end. The Welsh Assembly may still make new plans to push ahead with its disastrous plans to kill badgers in parts of Wales in a deluded attempt to control TB in cattle. It won't work - which has been backed up by the largest ever study done into bovine TB. What is clear that this is a political decision designed to protect the seats of rural politicians and to prop up the Welsh dairy industry. They won't listen to science or reason, but they might listen to a drop in profits. The Welsh dairy industry is one of the biggest reasons why this wildlife massacre is happening. Don't support it! Find out more here.
Badgers are harmless, loved, unique and secretive. Yet they face illegal trapping, baiting with dogs and 50,000 die on the roads each year in Britain. Now they face their biggest threat yet - the Welsh dairy industry! Whilst English badgers have escaped an official 'cull' because of pressure from people like you, badgers in Wales are still being accused by farmers of being the main culprits in spreading bovine TB. The real culprits are farming practices so intense that dairy cows face numerous infections and rarely survive beyond five years old. TB tests are often inaccurate, allowing disease carriers to reinfect their herd or to be transported around the UK, infecting new herds. The Welsh Assembly wants a trial 'cull', ignoring the 10 year study by top scientists which established that badger 'culling' will not control TB in cattle. This means many animals will be cruelly killed to no purpose - other than mollifying farmers who refuse to change their ways. If 'culling' extends across all Wales, badgers could be wiped out from certain areas in a slaughter that may last until the 2030s.
Welsh Day of Action! Saturday, September 20 - read the report.
TV wildlife presenter and Viva! patron Wendy Turner-Webster
Brian May from Queen
“I'm so thrilled to hear that the proposed extermination of this country's Badgers has been scrapped. I congratulate Hilary Benn on a brave and humane decision. And I am encouraged by the rejection of what I regard as a disgracefully scientifically unsound report by ex chief scientific advisor to the Government, Sir David King."
“The Farming community must now logically look to improvements in their own methods to control TB in Cattle. We can only hope that this leads to long-term improvements in the way farm animals are treated; it is long overdue.
“Just for the sake of making more money out of what some of us eat (not me) ... these people wanted to exterminate a whole population of innocent wild animals who have as much right to live in this land as we humans do.”
Jenny Seagrove
“Now farmers will realise the strength of the science and will recognise that culling has no part to play. They should now objectively, alongside government, consider the cattle control elements that we all know are absolutely essential as outlined in our report.”
Professor John Bourne, chairman of the Independent Scientific Group
"Culling badgers is historically known to be totally ineffective in stopping bovine TB. Northern Ireland has proved that the most effective procedures are strict cattle controls and no culling. We should all follow their lead- It works!"
Joanna Lumley
“We must not make badgers scapegoats for bovine TB”.
Twiggy
“How can we condemn a protected species to death when the reasons for doing so have been discredited by valid scientific evidence? Badger culling is utterly barbaric and pointless. Please support Viva! in their fight to stop this needless massacre of our precious wildlife.”
Benjamin Zephaniah
“Deep down anyone with common sense knows that killing animals is wrong, but what makes the idea of culling badgers even more sinister is that it’s being done in order to cover up bad farming practices and lazy testing methods. I don’t want to stand by knowing that these great creatures are suffering and being killed, but I also don’t want to see a time in the future when we look back and wonder how we let another group of our animals disappeared from our country.
I say no to this or any other badger cull and I urge all caring people to do the same. Get rid of ignorance, not badgers.”
Rose Elliot
“I totally support Viva! in their campaign to stop the badger cull which is both obscene and unnecessary since top scientists say it will only make the spread of TB in cattle worse.”
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