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Tag: badger

  • Petitions, petitions, petitions

    e-petition
    Brian May’s “Stop the badger cull” e-petition

    The online petition calling on the Government to “stop the badger cull” – launched in autumn 2012 by Queen guitarist Brian May – finally closed on September 7, having collected a grand total of 303,771 (ish) signatures.

    We say “ish” because, due to the nature of the online signing process, additional signatures are continuing to dribble in day by day. In fact, the last 24 hours has seen the “final figure” rise by another 100.

    [Editor’s note: as of September 23, the count stands at 304,027 signatures]

    Whatever the actual final figure, this e-petition smashed all records: on launch, it received the number of signatures required to have it considered for debate in the House of Commons in just two weeks; it then went on to more than triple that figure, making it the biggest ever on the Government’s website – beating “Convicted London rioters should loose (sic) all benefits” into second position.

    Bearing in mind only 21 out of 23,134 successful petitions (0.09%) launched on the website have succeeded in achieving the required number to be considered for debate, this truly does show the strength of feeling on the subject.

    But will it make a difference? Who knows? MPs initially voted against culling in October 2012, yet environment minister Owen Paterson is fully behind the trials and seems determined to see them through – although he should beware, another e-petition currently online is entitled simply: “We call on Owen Paterson to be replaced from his position as Secretary for the Environment”. [2,808 signatures]

    One other petition of interest to us at the moment is one yet to achieve the full complement of signatures required. Currently sitting at 71,430, celebrity vet Marc Abraham’s e-petition to “Ban the sale of young puppies & kittens without their mothers being present” needs a hand to achieve its quota, so please do think about signing to help end the cruel practice of puppy/kitten farming in the UK.

    But if you need more of a reason to sign, check out the amusing viral video below. Launched by Pup Aid to promote the puppy petition, the short film stars comedian Mark Heap (Spaced, Green Wing) and follows the humorous exploits of Philip the dog when his owner pops out to buy milk…

  • And so it begins…

    And so it begins…

    badger
    Original image ©iStockphoto.com/ChrisCrafter

    After months of speculation about when the trial badger culls would begin, the fateful moment finally arrived on August 27 when marksmen armed with high velocity rifles stepped into fields throughout Somerset.

    In a letter to NFU members, president Peter Kendall called the pilots – which will see around5,000 badgers in Somerset and Gloucestershire culled over the next six weeks in an attempt to control bovine TB – “an important step” for both cattle farmers and the entire farming industry.

    But not everybody sees it that way – and you can’t seem to turn on the television or open a web browser without being deluged with outpourings of grief and outrage sparked by the unnecessary deaths of these “beautiful creatures”; while the mainstream media is filled with the ire of organisations like the RSPCA, social media streams have become clogged withcountless pictures of tiny badger cubs and pleas to sign yet another petition to “stop the cull NOW!!!”

    Unfortunately, however much this outrage is sparked by those supposedly “in the know”, the true torchbearers in this campaign are those who do not truly understand the plight of UK farmers and their cattle, but simply find the thought of killing a fluffy creature abhorrent.

    “Vaccinate cattle” they say, unaware that such a solution is at least a decade away. “Culling won’t work” they say, ignoring the fact that ministers wouldn’t even consider this option if they knew for a fact that this was true (or would they?).

    But too many of those who beg for the lives of the Government’s black and white adversaries do so with no real knowledge of the situation other than what they’ve heard on Twitter or Facebook – and what chance do rhyme and reason have against cutesy badger pictures or morality-rousing internet memes featuring Bill Oddie?

  • Things aren’t always black and white

    Things aren’t always black and white

    Badger
    Image ©iStockphoto.com/Freder

    The RSPCA revealed this week that an e-petition against the Government’s badger cull had achieved a “record number of signatures“, with more than 260,000 people (and counting…) signing up to protest against the shooting of badgers as a way of combating bovine TB.

    This huge figure makes “Stop the Badger Cull” the best supported petition of its kind – although that’s not particularly surprising, particularly when you bear in mind the emotive aspect of the subject matter, the active support of numerous popular celebrities and plenty of prime-time coverage for the cause (including BBC’s The One Show).

    However, it’s probably fair to say that the majority of those signatories were not persuaded into it through the use of indisputable facts and figures – mainly because such figures do not exist. If they did, Defra wouldn’t consider killing badgers in the first place, would it?

    This problem has been ongoing for years, during which time UK cattle farmers have had to jump through hoops (slaughtering livestock, introducing improved cattle controls, improving biosecurity and participating in pre-movement testing) while the Government “ummed and ahhed” over culling badgers for fear of public backlash.

    So, now Defra has finally found the backbone to agree to these pilot culls, wouldn’t it be counterproductive to allow a petition (however big) to put a stop to it?

    Yes, this petition’s figures are impressive. But if you want to be fair then you should also note the NFU’s YouGov poll from May 2013, which showed that only 34% of people surveyed were opposed to a badger cull – 27% of whom would change their minds if it stopped bTB from spreading to other areas of the UK.

    Extrapolating, that means 66% of the British public either support (29%), don’t know (22%) or have no strong feelings (15%) about a cull – the equivalent of a petition with more than half a million signatures (504,705).

    But the guitarist from Queen isn’t promoting that petition, is he?

  • To cull or not to cull?

    To cull or not to cull?

    For some time now, the badger cull debate has been ongoing, and finally, despite continuing setbacks from the RSPCA and other supporters of “Team Badger”, such as iconic Brian May, things seem to be moving.

    Brian May
    Brian May filming for the BBC’s The One Show for an anti-badger culling campaign. By Norbie (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
    With a well-loved famous figure heading the “against” argument for the cull, the public are easily led to believe that this argument must be the right one. Unfortunately, however, the naivety of these “townies” obscures their view of the bigger picture.

    Since the proposal of the cull, badgers have become something of a national mascot, with the public claiming that they are an irreplaceable element of the British countryside; part of the wildlife we simply cannot afford to lose. This is all very well, but before the proposal of the cull, were they seen as anything more than roadkill that could easily write off your car? And I wonder that if it were found that rats or pigeons were carrying a disease such as TB, would there be equal public outcry?

    The RSPCA claims that culling is not the solution to the problem of TB in cattle. Again, it’s difficult for the sheltered public to consider the possibility that the most well known animal charity in the country could have gotten it wrong. The truth is, the cull would never have been suggested if there were no need for it. We are not a nation of bloodthirsty, mindless killers, but we are a nation that believes in doing what’s right for our animals.

    Defra claims there is scientific evidence for an increased incidence of bovine TB in areas where the badger population is high. In areas where, 10 years ago, TB was unheard of, since an increase in badger numbers, the disease is now rife among cattle. This effects both the beef and the dairy industry considerably, and cannot be allowed to continue to do so. It essential that we halt the increasing incidence of bovine TB, and currently, our key method of control would be to, indeed, pursue the badger cull.

    RSPCA's badger petition logo
    Thanks to increased publicity, such as this ‘anti-cull’ poster from the RSPCA, badgers have become something of a national mascot.

    For many farmers, badgers are seen as pests in a similar way to foxes. In addition to carrying TB, they destroy land and have been known to steal stock, such as chickens. I doubt there are many farmers that are opposed to the cull.

    One of the most significant arguments against the cull is that vaccination could be used as an alternative. However, vaccination would be considerably more expensive and time consuming, not mention less effective than the cull. While possible, this alternative is simply not plausible.

    There is a proposed public march in London on June 1 to protest the badger cull. It would be interesting to see what proportion of people turn out to wave their banners. Will there be many people that see the TB problem on a day-to-day basis, such as vets and farmers, or will the protesters predominantly comprise those who like to think of badgers as cute and cuddly, but have an involvement in the dairy industry that extends only as far as buying milk from the local supermarket?

    As a vet student, I believe it is important to have an opinion and take a moral standing on issues such as this. On more than one occasion, I have found myself quizzed about my view on the cull, based on my course of study. We need to be prepared and be able to respond to public interrogation with calmly reasoned arguments. After all, we will be the face of the veterinary profession before we know it.