I'm a naturalist so sorry if this annoys anyone but this is serious.
IMPLEMENTATION OF BADGER CULLS CONFIRMED BY THE GOVERNMENT
It was a black day on Tuesday for animals, for Science and for humanity.
Caroline Spelman made the speech which all of us knew she would
eventually make, confirming this Government’s decision to instigate
‘pilot culls’ of badgers. It is typical of the way this administration
has operated, that the announcement was made at a time apparently
deliberately unspecified, on almost the last day of this Parliamentary
session, making it as difficult as possible for a response to be made.
The whole conduct of this business has been shady and shameful. DEFRA
have gone through the motions of a consultation, but they made the
questions almost impossible to answer in a critical way, and then they
ignored the findings anyway. It has become more and more apparent that
this Government is determined to kill badgers, no matter what. In going
down this road they have totally ignored a large majority of public
opinion, the advice of all independent scientific commentators, and any
moral considerations whatsoever. The decision panders to the extreme end
of the farming community, the very element that helped put this
Government in power. Although legions of other, well informed farmers
are also against this cull and in favour of pursuing the vaccination
route, together with strict adherence to stringent cattle controls,
their voices are likewise being ignored.
From a
scientist’s point of view, this is painful to watch. The whole meaning
of the word Science has been trampled upon by these people. They keep
talking about a “science-led cull” and saying “the Science tells us …”
It’s a travesty. The essence of Science is impartiality, and
conscientious scientists offer opinions only when they are directly
based on hard evidence. It is glaringly obvious that the only
scientists, who have come out in favour of this cobbled together killing
plan, are those in the pocket of the Government. It is depressing to
see some of the country’s best-educated researchers apparently being
told to find evidence to support a decision which has in effect already
been made.
This announcement will plunge the country into conflict.
It would be my preference to direct our anger at the Government, and
not at the farmers, many of whom will suffer from this decision through
no fault of their own. But to the public it will become obvious that the
price of their bottle of milk will now be the blood of thousands of
mostly healthy badgers; badgers who have been slaughtered in a
desperately misguided attempt to solve a farming problem, which has
spread into our countryside, infecting whole populations of our wild
animals with an unpleasant disease. You have to remember that this is
not a government that has any respect whatever for animals … they are
also intent on bringing back the abhorrent 'sports' of fox-hunting, stag
hunting with dogs, and hare coursing. So it's hardly surprising that
they are willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands of badgers simply
to solve a financial issue in an already hugely subsidised industry.
But most of all, even if this desperate and ill-informed decision
actually COULD lead to the eradication of Bovine TB in cattle – and
nobody really believes it will – this is a morally unsupportable course
of action. It is time that the laws protecting all animals were
tightened up and given teeth. How long can we carry on devastating the
Natural World and ignoring the fact that, if we as animals matter, then
all sentient creatures do too, and have a right to life and health and
fair treatment?
If we allow this slaughter to happen, the blood of these
beautiful and innocent animals is on ALL our hands
Petition already signed by 40438
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/badgers-petition#petition
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