On the 14th day of Christmas a badger cull is confirmed

We are 'banging our heads against a brick wall'

14.12.11

A Christmas carol has been given a sinister twist after the government today confirmed details of a pilot badger cull in England.

RSPCA singers showed their bitter frustration at the unfestive announcement by adapting the words of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' in the video above.

In the topical take on the song:

• 12 furry badgers are shot
   
• five cows are still sick
   
• four farmers are still angry
   
• three MPs are still confused
   
• and one vaccination is still unused.

A badger cull is not the way to tackle bovine TB

News that a cull has been confirmed comes despite fierce opposition and years of contentious debate.

The proposals are part of a package of measures aimed at controlling bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle, but eminent scientists, animal welfare experts and high-profile figures such as Sir David Attenborough all believe that a cull is not the way to tackle these problems.

The government is 'just not listening'

Stacey Frier, senior parliamentary adviser, said:

We, and so many others, have been telling the government for years that this cull is not the answer to the problems with bovine TB but they are just not listening.

We feel like we have been banging our heads against a brick wall for ages. So we have decided to sing about our frustrations instead.

 

100,000 signatures protesting against a cull completely ignored

We were devastated when it was announced in July that the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was 'strongly minded' to go ahead with the proposals which have today been confirmed.

The announcement comes despite 100,000 signatures from the general public being handed to the government in October to protest the plans.

It also comes despite scientific studies which have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing the disease, and could actually make things worse in some areas.

There are more effective and humane alternatives

The RSPCA agrees that action is needed to deal with the ravishing effects of the disease, but believes that vaccination and cattle controls would be more effective and humane alternatives to dealing with the problems.

Recent projects showed that vaccination in particular could be a promising, practical way of combating bovine TB in cattle. However, in June 2010, the government reduced the plans to vaccinate badgers in England from six areas to one.

Colin Booty, senior wildlife scientist, said:

It is not as if there aren't alternatives to a cull.

Vaccination could be a more effective and sustainable way of dealing with the disease, and one which does not involve killing most of the badger population in very large areas of the countryside.

It has now been nearly a year and a half since the government decided to dramatically scale back the vaccination projects that had been planned.

If they had gone forward, who knows how much nearer we may have been to a proper solution.

Sadly, the impression is of a government more interested in killing badgers than vaccinating them.

 

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Share our frustration? Please share our video

If you share our frustration about the government's announcement of a badger cull in England, please share our video - Twelve Days of Christmas - with your friends and family.



Find out more about our Back off badgers campaign.
 

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