UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN living in a sett for the last few months, you’ve probably heard that the government plan to undertake a badger cull in order to stop badgers giving cows T.B. Of course, no-one wants to kill badgers, but the government and the National Farmers Union claim that this is necessary; except that no one else seems to think so. Going back a few years, over 10,000 badgers were killed by scientists in order to see if culling them reduces T.B. in cattle, only to conclude that it will make “no meaningful contribution” to controlling the disease. Several studies suggest that cattle movement is the most significant cause, and that this needs to be controlled much more than badgers. Now, these very scientists, as well as conservation and animal welfare groups such as the R.S.P.B. and R.S.P.C.A., the likes of David Attenborough and Bill Oddie, a large proportion of the public, and top of all of this, a majority of M.P.s in the House of Commons, are opposed to the cull and support alternatives such as vaccination and biosecurity measures.
So, why are they trying to kill the badgers? The decision appears to be an entirely political one, as the Tories depend upon the votes of farming communities who do not want to admit that that they’ve made mistakes with cattle movement, and the increasingly low genetic pool of cattle, poor conditions and lack of biosecurity has led to an increase in susceptibility and the spread of the disease. In the words of John Bourne, the scientist who led the previous trial of badger culling: “I think the most interesting observation was made to me by a senior politician who said, ‘fine John, we accept your science, but we have to offer the farmers a carrot. And the only carrot we can possibly give them is culling badgers’”.
Anti-cull activists are therefore on the case, with pickets of supermarkets selling milk sourced from the cull zones (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda) in Bristol and Bath throughout last month. Far be it from us to give shopping advice, but if you’re not lactose-intolerant or one of those funny vegans, you might consider heading to Co-op, Waitrose or Marks’s for your milk. Indeed, we take our hats off to Brian May and his more clandestine friends, a combination of whose e-petitions, lobbying, ‘gentle pressure’, late night sett-monitoring and prank phone calls led to not only a tough day in the office or two for new environment minister Owen Paterson, but also to M.P.s voting to delay the cull until next June!
But don’t pack up your waterproofs, maps and torches just yet – if the cull does still go ahead next year, there is plenty work to be done. Country estates (such as Forthampton Estate) and some farms are still signed up to the cull, and many badger setts have already been baited for culling, and activists are making note of these to go out and interrupt the shooting when the time comes. And campaigners are also targeting coffee shops like Starbucks and Nero, who deal with pro-cull dairies: if you would like speak to them, their details are below:
Starbucks U.K. and Ireland Media Inquiries
tel: + 44 20 8834 5164
e-mail: ukpressoffice@tarbucks.com
Caffe Nero
http://www.caffenero.com/contact/default.aspx
http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/
http://badger-killers.co.uk/shoot-to-kill/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/25/badgers-wildlife
