Badgers - and this Disreputable Government

The last week has been terrible for badgers, and things are only going to get worse:

Tuesday 26th August: British Government quietly release plans to kill up to 1876 badgers in Somerset and Gloucestershire this year.

Friday 29th August: Badger Trust high court legal challenge against the badger cull is overturned.

Tuesday 2nd September: Badger vaccination projects are announced to be taking place around the country.

I don't approve when I see a story of vaccination being used to bury the real news of the imminent and unjustifiable murder of badgers.

Make no mistake, our nation is in uproar about what is being done in Somerset and Gloucestershire. More than 300,000 people signed Brian May's anti cull petition in 2013, but the cull continued. It claimed the lives of almost 2000 badgers, cost around £7,000,000 and the independent expert team hired to study the results described it as 'ineffective and inhumane'.

At this point, any sensible person would look at the overwhelming scientific evidence against the cull, the view of their own expert panel, the will of the people, and accept that they had made a mistake.

But not this government. Instead they fired the expert panel, and told the contractors to get the guns back out.

This cull is an abomination, which the government are pursuing at all costs and sweeping deftly under the media radar. Many still do not know there is to be a badger cull this year. It is up to each of us to share the truth. Please share the news of this imminent cull with friends and family:

http://www.networkforanimals.org/news/2014-badger-cull-given-go-ahead 

 

Don't Cull, say Trusts

While the first badger culls have been carried out in Somerset and Gloucestershire, The Wildlife Trusts continue to vaccinate badgers on their nature reserves and, with farmers, on surrounding land.

The cull, claimed to be the best way to reduce TB in cattle (bTB), is opposed by wildlife organisations, scientists and the public. More than 300,000 people supported a government e-petition against culling. Although sympathetic with farmers, The Wildlife Trusts are firmly against the cull and will not allow culling on their land.

Two years ago Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust began to vaccinate badgers in high bTB risk areas to demonstrate its practicality. There are now 13 Trusts either vaccinating badgers or raising funds to do so. Some are vaccinating in the zone between high and low risk areas - the 'firewall' approach.

They will continue to press for greater emphasis on badger vaccination. But the long-term goal is the development of a cattle vaccine alongside other measures to reduce bTB such as improved farm biosecurity, restrictions on livestock movements and breeding genetic resistance in cattle.

For the latest news and to donate to vaccination projects visit
wildlifetrusts.org/badgers-and-bovineTB  

The Wrinklies Club

We might be getting on a bit but we still know how to enjoy ourselves. Here we are, last Friday, having enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at The George Inn at Backwell near Bristol.

That's me, in the middle on the right and my wife Rosalind is sat in the middle on the left. The other members of the Wrinklies Club are my wife's sisters, Janet and Jean and brothers-in-law Mike and John.

The George serves up magnificent food and an excellent pint of Butcombe ale from the Somerset brewery http://www.butcombe.com/

Life is good.

Lazy Days of Autumn

Ros and I have just spent a lovely, lazy, restful, long weekend in Portishead, Somerset and arrived home late this afternoon in Brighton after a long drive via Cheddar, Frome, Warminster, Salisbury, Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester.....

I will do some blog catching up tomorrow. Signing off with a large cognac...

Somerset Badger Cull Given Extension

The government agency Natural England (there is nothing 'natural' about this gang of bloodthirsty individuals) has granted a licence to extend the badger cull in Somerset until 1st November. The planned six-week trial came to an end on Monday but the firm charged with slaughtering our badger population asked for more time after its 'marksmen' fell short of murdering the target of 70% of the badger population.

Government ministers and the NFU, that union of wealthy landowning farmers who don't care a fig about our wildlife, say badger culling is needed to control cattle TB. For those of you who read my blog you will know that this is so contrary to the truth behind the spread of bovine TB and yet these wretched people are hell bent on destroying a protected species of our wildlife instead of embarking on a course of vaccinating them as an acceptable alternative.

David Cameron, Owen Paterson and their other right wing allies have polarised the UK voting public over this issue. They have totally underestimated the groundswell of hatred that this has engendered for the coalition government, amongst  reasonable minded people who voted for them. I am a retired Managing Director. In my lifetime I have supported an ethic of business building to create employment, to increase incomes to be spent on the High Street and - yes - I have voted Conservative. But, no more. I now have more time to consider the political motives of our elected government and I am ashamed of what the coalition are doing viz-a-viz the NHS, the Welfare State, Education, Banking, Climate Change and above all - the Environment. You, Mr Cameron, aided by Mr Paterson, have lost the votes of my entire family. Your arrogance in ignoring scientific evidence that has concluded, and been reported to you, that a badger cull is not only futile, may well increase the incidence of TB in cattle by perturbation, and is a crime against a protected species, may well lead to your downfall. To extend the licence for the cull in Somerset is the action of a desperate man and a breach of trust of all those, like me, who voted for you.

Well, let me say this. What goes around comes around. You might not believe that your action and that of Owen Paterson in this crime against our wildlife is a major issue. I believe that you will be remembered for this and you should dwell on your decision when you pack your bags and leave No. 10.

And, frankly, I cannot wait for that to happen.

Camp Badger to Remain Vigilant

The badger cull has failed to kill enough animals. Sources claim that the cull has failed to kill fewer than half the animals that were the target in Somerset.

 http://youtu.be/LewZxNTdn4I

Shooting Themselves in the Foot

My friend Jenny Dunn tweeted this link a few minutes ago.  If you want to read more pertinent news about this outrageous badger cull, then click here  http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Shooting-foot/story-19787500-detail/story.html#axzz2exLviyGJ