The badger – an icon of the English countryside set to disappear?
Sir David Attenborough, Simon King OBE and Brian May CBE of rock group Queen are resisting the move by government mandarins to cull 70% of badgers from the English countryside. Attenborough’s and King’s outcry combined with May’s petition is a welcome boost to the Badger Trust’s efforts to save this iconic creature from mass slaughter.
Many leading scientists have stated that a cull this autumn will not work and may even increase the spread of bTB (bovine tuberculosis). The majority of scientists agree that the vaccination of badgers and cattle is a far better and more cost-effective option.
It’s science not sentiment that’s driving our opposition to the Government’s policy to cull badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset this autumn.
Sir David Attenborough and Simon King OBE
Licenses were granted last week for pilot culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset. According to one of the government’s advisers, there is no real way of knowing how many badgers there are in any given area and therefore no way of measuring whether the 70% target has been achieved or not. They may end up killing them all!
The question is this: who would you rather believe? Attenborough – a man whose proven track record is to preserve nature (including cattle) or the mandarins of power that for reasons of public opinion “need to be seen to be doing something”.
Brian May defiant against government plans to cull the badger
Plans to cull badgers in Wales were recently abandoned in favour of vaccination and there are no plans to cull in Scotland. So why does it make so much sense in England?
If you are against this cull, sign Brian May’s petition posted on HM Government’s e-petition site.
UPDATE: According to the BBC, Natural England has issued a second licence allowing farmers to shoot badgers.
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