SAVE THE BADGER - Don’t be guilty of doing nothing! ACT NOW.
The government are planning to kill badgers to try to reduce the incidence of Bovine TB in cattle. There are so many problems with this decision so I’m going to get on my soapbox!
We (the tax payer) have already spent tens of millions of pounds on a study (by the Independent Study Group) that has proved that culling doesn’t work - in fact it can make it worse (11,000 have already been killed to prove it doesn’t work).
The badger as a species has already suffered enough persecution through culling, badger baiting and snaring.
Financial impact - following the governments planned course the costs will surely be much higher. How so? Just imagine how much lost revenue farmers will suffer when people against the cull start boycotting British or area specific farm produce. Imagine how much lost revenue there will be when people boycott areas where culling takes place - it will cripple the tourism industry in those areas. Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucestershire etc. and other areas will suffer.
Safety First - so the government want to allow the shooting of trapped and free running badgers using high powered rifles that can kill an animal from a long distance. Oh don’t forget, these rifles can also kill people. So you’re having a nice little walk down a public footpath..... Bang - you could be dead before you heard the sound of the shot).
Millions have been spent (again our money) on a badger vaccine, so why aren’t we using it?
The bottom line for me is that we should not be persecuting a species because of our mis-management of the countryside - The first badger with bTB was in 1971 - it got it from cows. So ok, give them a horrible disease - and then kill them, yeah that’s fair. Badgers are doing what they do naturally - we shouldn’t be killing them for it.
It may sound to some that I’m having a go at farmers - not so, there are plenty of farmers that are against the killing of badgers. It is a complex issue, the supermarkets also have their part to play - How can a bottle of water cost more than a pint of milk - it’s insane!
Q. So why are the government giving the go ahead to kill badgers when it doesn’t work?
A. Votes - both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems said in their election manifestoes that they would kill badgers - they are appeasing a small proportion of their voters, and by doing so will waste our money and achieve nothing apart from ‘u-turn’ avoidance.
What can you do?
Write to your MP and tell your MP what you think. Join the Badger Trust to help fight the slaughter of this native species through the courts. Write to Jim Paice (Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and tell him this nonsensical approach should stop.
Hands Off Our Innocent Wildlife!
Do the right thing and help Save The Badger.
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