Disappointment at Stop the Cull rally

12.09.12

We supported The Badger Trust's legal challenge of a badger cull in England and we are disappointed it was not successful, but the fight still goes on.

The Badger Trust has lost its Court of Appeal challenge to government proposals to kill thousands of wild badgers in England.

It clears the way for the start of culls in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset.

RSPCA Chief Executive Gavin Grant, pictured above, said:

We are bitterly disappointed that the UK Government in England is ploughing on with plans to kill badgers but the fight is not over yet.

Stop the Cull campaign

The RSPCA, League Against Cruel Sports, Humane Society International (UK), Save Me (run by rock guitarist Brian May, pictured below), have joined together to form the Stop the Cull campaign.

The coalition of charities and a host of local campaign groups held a rally in Bristol yesterday in protest of the planned cull.

At the rally, Gavin Grant commented:

We joined Brian May, a coalition of charities and crowds of protestors at a public rally to put a stop to this cull as the start date draws near.

This ongoing Stop the Cull campaign is rapidly gaining momentum and public support – as we have seen by the number of people turning up today. It is time the government listened.

It needs to look at the science and the results achieved in Wales and change their policy to one of vaccination – let’s cure and not kill.

More information

Scientific studies have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) in cattle and even suggest that it could make things worse in some areas.

The Stop the Cull campaign is pushing for the government to rethink their policy and implement a vaccination programme, along with increased levels of testing, improved farm biosecurity and stricter controls on the movement of cattle rather than culling 70 per cent of the badger population, the vast majority of which are disease free.

The Welsh government, using the same scientific evidence as Defra, has begun a five year vaccination programme of badgers in Wales.

Take action now

• Join the Stop the Cull campaign.