10,000 Badgers Could Be Killed in This Year’s Culls

The cruel badger cull has been rolled out to three more counties in England – meaning that thousands more wild animals are likely to be killed this year.

The government is increasing the number of areas where badgers will be killed, issuing licences to parts of Herefordshire, Cornwall, and Devon, in addition to the culling that has already been happening in Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Dorset.

Massacring wildlife in this way is wrong on every level – here’s why:

• It’s inhumane. According to the government’s own report, hundreds of badgers who’ve been killed so far took more than five minutes to die.
• It’s unfair. Badgers shouldn’t be used as a scapegoat for poor practices by dairy farmers which have led to a rise in disease in cows.
• It’s expensive. Last year’s killings cost taxpayers a staggering £1,212 per badger killed. The next round of culling will incur estimated costs of £33.6 million.
• It’s ineffective. There’s no sound scientific evidence that killing badgers prevents the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Experts suggest that other approaches, such as increased disease testing, would be far more successful – and wouldn’t harm thousands of wild animals.

It’s hard to believe that the government wants to continue with this shameful and misguided attack on badgers – sensitive social animals who’ve been present in the British Isles for at least 300,000 years.

Stand Up for Britain’s Badgers

Here are a few ways to help stop the cull:

• Show your opposition to the cull by sharing a selfie with the hashtag #ShootSelfiesNotBadgers and adding it to the Big Badger Mosaic.
• Get involved with a wounded badger patrol in your area. Find details of local groups on the Team Badger website.
• The rise of bovine TB is directly linked to how cows are treated by dairy farmers. Consider changing your lifestyle to stop supporting the damaging dairy industry.