The Truth about the Badger Culls
For the past decade, the British government has been authorising the killing of badgers as part of an alleged Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Programme. Despite warnings from their own scientific advisors, professors, and conservationists that culling badgers will have no impact on the spread of tuberculosis, the government has continued and even accelerated the culling of badgers, expanding from two zones in 2013 to 72 zones in 2022.
Cull contractors and farmers have already killed over 175,000 badgers, with 75,000 killed in 2021 alone. While the badger still holds protected status under the 1992 Protection of Badgers Act, this policy threatens to push the species close to extinction as Nature England’s licence numbers are based on estimates rather than factual figures. Not only that but there is evidence that suggests cull contractors are killing more badgers than they report and some farmers are killing badgers all year round.
The controversial statements made by Jeremy Clarkson earlier this year have caused uproar in the farming industry. Whilst some people see it as an opportunity to open up a debate on the effectiveness of culling badgers to control the spread of Bovine TB, others argue that the move is a sign that the farming industry is disregarding nature and wildlife to prioritise their profits.
Despite the government’s claims that their culling policy has had a positive impact on controlling Bovine TB, their data appears to suggest otherwise, with infection rates in cows remaining high and badgers paying the price with their lives. This has left many confused and divided on how best to tackle this problem going forwards
The British government’s callous BovineTB eradication policy has failed every victim. Over 175,000 innocent badgers have suffered a senseless slaughter, whilst cows in intensive dairy farms endure a wretched life of infection, exacerbating their excruciating pain as they become afflicted with a crippling disease that will either kill them or force them to be destroyed.
The farmers have been cruelly disregarded. They have followed the government’s orders and drained their finances, investing upwards of £100,000 on the government-endorsed program to eradicate BovineTB, yet are still plagued by the disease in their herds. They demand an explanation – why do they still have BovineTB in their herds?
For a harrowing decade, Badgers have had no one to turn to for help. Thanks to those brave enough to form direct action groups, these creatures of the wild have found solace from an unlikely source: the public. Every night, these individuals put their lives on the line, traversing the cull zones, defusing traps and barring the contractors from carrying out their plans for senseless slaughter. Though none of the badgers tested positive for BovineTB, the government continues to ignore them. We honour those who put their lives at risk fighting for a cause that is bigger than themselves and standing up for creatures who are unable to stand up for themselves.
At Wildlife Matters we have been actively campaigning against the Badger culls since former Prime Minister, William Haigh, who in 2009 announced a future conservative government intended to license the badger culls in an attempt to win the rural vote in the run-up to the 2010 general election.
Wildlife Matters has worked within coalitions of NGOs, with Scientists, Conservationists, and Veterinarians, and has helped to win two Parliamentary debates, and legal challenges as well as working with groups on the frontline and talking directly to farmers within the cull zones.
So far, nothing has deflected the government express from delivering its deadly direction and killing more and more badgers every year.
The Government announced that they would stop culling badgers but that will not be until 2026. In that time they could kill upwards of another 300,000 badgers! By 2026, there will not be any badgers left in the South West of the UK and very few throughout the rest of the country.
That’s why we need to take action now.
We need to reinforce and increase Direct protection by supporting the groups on the frontline with the equipment they need and the fuel and food to get and keep them on the frontline.
We will work collaboratively with any NGO, Scientist, Conservationist or politician that actively supports an end to the pointless killing of badgers and an immediate end to the policy of Badger Culling
We will also support research and science to find methods of controlling and stopping the spread of bovine TB in cattle. It is clear we need to stop intensive farming, and the spread of slurry and immediately improve the hygiene of the intensive farms as they change away from that business model.
We also support the work of vets and scientists in developing the BCG Vaccine to be an effective solution. BovineTB, whilst a very different virus from SARS – Covid19 has a similar impact on the respiratory system and major organs of those infected with it. BovineTB is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can (and does) pass to humans where it is known as Tuberculosis.
How can you help?
We are currently planning a series of open talks with Farmers to work together to
1. End the culling of badgers
2. Control BovineTB via vaccines, farm hygiene improvements and reducing the intensity of dairy farms.
3. We will form a working coalition of Politicians, NGOs and individuals who oppose Badger culling and with the support of the British Public we will take that message to parliament.
We are currently working on a new .gov.uk Government petition that will be published soon. We require 10,000 initial signatures and 100,000 to ensure a debate in parliament and we need your support to achieve this.
In addition to sharing the petition with your family, friends and colleagues, please share it with your wider network.
If you enjoyed this blog, please check out more of our wildlife blogs here, or you may prefer to listen to the Wildlife Matters Podcast here.
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Now is the time to take action. Badgers remain a protected species, they are vital to the biodiversity of our landscape and a native mammal that has been in Britain far longer than humans.
Most importantly, Badgers are an end host of BovineTB, meaning they can carry the disease but rarely is it fatal to them. They do not pass it on.
The truth is Bovine TB is a disease of cattle, in particular cows in intensive dairy farms – BovineTB is still rare on traditional farms.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW – Be a voice for Badgers before its too late
Further Reading
Badger Cull FAO – Wildlife Trusts
Has a Decade of Badger culling worked? BBC News
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