Badgers Under Fire

In both England and Wales, the guns are out for badgers. Not literally yet – but a certainty if the ruling governments in both countries get their way. In England they are planning to allow farmers to shoot badgers on their land with either rifles or shotguns. Caged and helpess, trembling with terror badgers will await their final moments. Even worse, the English government is planning to allow farmers to shoot free-running badgers. Hunted at night, horrifically injured animals may not be killed outright, and could die a lingering, painful and lonely death. Decades old family units shattered in a moment. No one will monitor this mass slaughter. Incredibly, they will not even check to see if dead badgers have got TB. Maybe that’s because they know the answer – most won’t!

In Wales, despite having their original plans scuppered in the courts, the Welsh Assembly wants to push ahead afresh for these killing fields. Although previously having to admit that the change to TB infection would be minimal. They have chosen an area because of hard geographical borders; so badgers cannot escape the gun. It is a policy akin to the emperor’s-new-clothes. Even if this could work – and it won’t – it could not be replicated across the rest of Wales.

The blast of fire arms and the screams of badgers across our countryside could become commonplace if plans in England and Wales go ahead. It cannot happen. That is why we need your help urgently.

The language of hate against our wildlife would make you think that there are terrorists in our midst, not innocent animals caught in a web of political spin and political favouritism.

Many in the farming community want badgers dead. They blame them for the spread of bovine TB amongst cattle. They neglect to mention the fact that the number of cattle killed because of TB is dwarfed by the number that are killed because of lameness, mastitis and infertility because of the increasingly intensive nature of the dairy industry. They neglect to mention the fact that most TB infection is caused by cattle-to-cattle infection. They neglect to mention that the findings of the largest ever study into TB found that killing badgers would have no meaningful effect on its spread. They also neglect to mention that TB rates are falling not rising.

The sad fact is that these governments see much of their power base in rural communities, and would seemingly argue that the sky was green if it meant they could hang onto their seats to please many – but not all – of their constituents. A sizeable percentage of rural people know what madness and bloody folly this is.

The Welsh Assembly and the coalition government in England are looking for a public mandate. As a country, they want our support. Let’s not give them that mandate. Let’s tell them exactly what we think about their policies to destroy wildlife. Please join us on November 27.