# Badger cull expected to start on 8th sep ..



## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

in both cull zones.



__ https://www.facebook.com/Caroline.Gould.ValeWildlifeHospital/posts/10152652976907230


I cannot find the words to express how much I loath this cruel government.


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## gentoo1980 (Aug 6, 2013)

I couldn't understand last year why they couldn't inoculate them but assumed it wasn't possible. I'm shocked after reading from your face book page that it's an option but it's just been rejecting. Disgusting.

I never clicked on the links you provided last year as it was too upsetting to read about the cull. I still can't bring myself to read or watch news storeys.

I'd help out if it was happening in my area. Even if it was just dog sitting for someone. I'd be useless at patrolling. I knew people were protesting but didn't know to what extent and how organised you all were. I take my hat off to you, you're by far a better human being than me and I'm so sorry it's happening again. I think it's great what you're doing and it's people like you that make a massive difference in this world. 

Only thing I'm doing is cutting out all beef porducts. I was going to do it last year but didn't bother going through with it. I know it wont make a difference but it might make me feel better.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

What is the matter with these idiots 

Did they learn nothing from their epic fail last time :mad2: :mad2:


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

gentoo1980 said:


> I couldn't understand last year why they couldn't inoculate them but assumed it wasn't possible. I'm shocked after reading from your face book page that it's an option but it's just been rejecting. Disgusting.
> 
> I never clicked on the links you provided last year as it was too upsetting to read about the cull. I still can't bring myself to read or watch news storeys.
> 
> ...


Wales chose to vaccinate rather than cull, they also implemented strict cattle measures & have seen a dramatic decrease in tb. Badgers play an insignificant role in the transmission of the disease. The transmission rates are 94.3% in cattle compared to just 5.7% in badger. The focus should be on the cattle but for some insidious reason the NFU & Govt are scapegoating badgers.

A caring person like yourself would break your heart if you saw the pictures of the dead badgers & read the reports - this is state sanctioned wildlife crime on a massive scale!!

I haven't actually been on the patrols or sabbing the cull Gentoo, that's not my fb page. The culls aren't in my area either(though if this govt get into power again there is little doubt they will roll the cull out nationwide) and I didn't have the opportunity to get to the cull zones last year. The patrollers & the Sabs have my full admiration also, they have been absolutely incredible. They were out every single night & the anguish they must have gone through must have been hard to bear, not to mention the intimidation they received not only from the gunmen but the police aswell - disgusting.! Theres no doubt the presence of these wonderful people saved countless badger lives. If you want to help maybe you could consider going on a protest march? I've managed to get on two of them, they have been happening all over the country & will continue to do so until the cull is stopped. The marches really help to spread the word & to keep it in the public eye.

If everyone did something like you are, it would make a big difference



rona said:


> What is the matter with these idiots
> 
> Did they learn nothing from their epic fail last time :mad2: :mad2:


They clearly don't want to learn Rona

.


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## gorgeous (Jan 14, 2009)

It is an absolute disgrace.

I believe the government have an ulterior motive.

For instance I live in a modern village in rural northants. It is a successful village and quite highly sought after. People want to move here but there are no more houses. At the end of our garden is open fields and a protected badger run..there fore they cannot build more houses.

However by culling the badgers, will this lift the protection on the badgers land? Which would then allow more properties to be built?


This would also happen in other areas allowing the government to follow their plans to build more obscene amount of properties.

Soon, I fear Britain will no longer be the haven for wildlife or green spaces but a massive urban sprawl.


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## evel-lin (Jul 1, 2010)

I just don't see how they can justify it. They did a trial, it failed so now they are extending it, huh?!

It's horrible


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

gorgeous said:


> It is an absolute disgrace.
> 
> I believe the government have an ulterior motive.
> 
> ...


I think you've hit the nail on the head, and they are blaming the farming community for this debacle  

They certainly aren't worried about bats, ancient woodland or water courses in this area. Some of the new houses that were built last year have already been flooded


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

gorgeous said:


> It is an absolute disgrace.
> 
> I believe the government have an ulterior motive.
> 
> ...


Many are saying the very same thing Gorgeous. The government are using tb as a convenient excuse to get rid of this heavily protected species whose presence obstructs development.

In the cull zones, although the badgers can be killed when the cull resumes, the badger setts are still protected. I assume protection is only for active setts so once all the animals are killed off developers could potentially move in.

Have a listen to this podcast Gorgeous, its an interview with Badger Trusts Dominic Dyer. He is asked if he thinks theres attempt to officially weaken the protection of badger act. He says he is worried about this & goes on to say Defra's Chief Scientist has stated that his biggest regret is the level of protection badgers have been given - the NFU plus other lobby groups are calling for protection to be removed. I don't think the government will do anything before the next election, though if they get back in power I wont be surprised if this is on their agenda.


__
https://soundcloud.com/bawc%2Fbawc-talk-with-dominic-dyer-badger-trust

Things are pretty bad already, but if the new infrastructure bill is passed nothing will be scared & we wont be able to do a thing about it.



evel-lin said:


> I just don't see how they can justify it. They did a trial, it failed so now they are extending it, huh?!
> 
> It's horrible


Its unjustifiable. This policy is nothing to do with disease eradication this is a legal way of eradicating a protected species.



rona said:


> I think you've hit the nail on the head, and they are blaming the farming community for this debacle
> 
> They certainly aren't worried about bats, ancient woodland or water courses in this area. Some of the new houses that were built last year have already been flooded


They blame the farming community because its the NFU that have lobbied long & hard for this policy Rona. More decent farmers, like David Purcer & Huw Rolands, need to get a spine & speak against this outrage! but if you look on farming forums you will see most farmers on there fully support this cull. And infact some farmers have been taking law into their own hands & gassing badgers themselves!

They aren't worried about bats or ancient woodland because Natural England no longer protects our natural heritage, it now serves developers and other vested interests.

.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

I've just seen this letter - everyone should read it. The writer has summed up perfectly the stupidity of the governments latest cull figures

Badger culling plan absurd
_
The absurdity of the governments plans to start killing badgers again is revealed by the revised targets announced last week.

A minimum of 316 and a maximum of 785 badgers are to be killed in West Somerset, more in Gloucestershire.

Putting aside the fact that fewer than half the farms taking part have any cattle on them and that the scientific consensus is against culling as an effective way of reducing TB in cattle, the numbers dont add up.

The stated aim has always been to kill 70 per cent of the local badgers.

Any less than 70 per cent risks making the TB problem worse, any more risks local extinction. So is 316, 70 per cent of the badger population in West Somerset, meaning there are only 451 live badgers in total?

In that case, killing 785 of them would clearly be impossible. It would mean wiping out the entire local population 1.7 times. But what if the upper target, 785, is 70 per cent of the total number of badgers, meaning there are actually 1,121 live badgers in West Somerset? Killing only 316 of them would be less than 30 per cent, well below the 70 per cent target. Has this arbitrary 70 per cent target been abandoned? If so why?

Is the government plucking figures out of thin air so that it can hail their ludicrous cull as a success in a desperate attempt to save face after last years spectacular failure to reach anything like their own targets for humaneness and effectiveness?

Perhaps landowners in Dorset who are so keen on slaughtering badgers, particularly the large pheasant shoots and the farms who have not adopted even the simplest of measures to minimise contact between cattle and wildlife as recommended on DEFRAs website, can explain the logic behind these numbers.

Even with a science degree I can make no sense of them._

Andy Hamilton High Street Yeovil


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

The BVA support it 
BVA will support second year of badger cull pilots in England


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

"And such dissident views, according to the farmers we spoke to, are far from uncommon, yet many within the industry fear they will become ostracised or even targeted if they find the courage to speak out."

Dissident farmers speak out against badger cull « eco-storm.com


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2014)

95% of the animals in the animal kingdom have become extinct or are close to extinction, no one apart from people who care (like us) realize that animals are living things, they have a heart, soul, body and spirit but they don't care, it's not them dying in extreme agony is it. People need to realize how much of the world they are destroying before 100% of animals become extinct.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

rona said:


> The BVA support it
> BVA will support second year of badger cull pilots in England


If the BVA ever had any credibility for supporting badger culls in the first place - they have zero now! After the Independent Expert Panel concluded the cull had failed on humanness the BVA vowed they would not support further culls _if_ the Govt withdrew Independent monitoring this year and if shotguns were still going to be permitted. There is to be no independent monitoring this year & shotguns can still be used - Surprise, surprise the BVA U-turned on both issues & fully endorsed this years cull 

Lets face it though, they were never going to withdraw support for killing badgers no matter how pointless or inhumane - Owen Paterson is an Honorary member of the Association. This is just another example of the British establishment at work:mad5:



rona said:


> "And such dissident views, according to the farmers we spoke to, are far from uncommon, yet many within the industry fear they will become ostracised or even targeted if they find the courage to speak out."
> 
> Dissident farmers speak out against badger cull « eco-storm.com


It still doesn't alter the fact that on social media sites many farmers are openly venomous towards badgers.

The farmers brave enough to speak out and oppose this cruel policy are the ones who have my full admiration. To the rest I say this >>





binkybunny said:


> 95% of the animals in the animal kingdom have become extinct or are close to extinction, no one apart from people who care (like us) realize that animals are living things, they have a heart, soul, body and spirit but they don't care, it's not them dying in extreme agony is it. People need to realize how much of the world they are destroying before 100% of animals become extinct.


I couldn't agree with you more. Each & everyone of us must do all we can to save our natural world.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

noushka05 said:


> It still doesn't alter the fact that on social media sites many farmers are openly venomous towards badgers.


A vocal minority can make a big noise and seem as if they are the majority 

Hate is always louder


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

rona said:


> A vocal minority can make a big noise and seem as if they are the majority
> 
> Hate is always louder


Many of them are also the big powerful landowners that this Countryside Alliance Government represents.

Looks like the killing will resume tonight Rona :-(

Badger cull to restart in Somerset and Gloucester | Western Morning News


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

Just when you think things cant get any worse for our badgers, it appears the badger killers can now interfere with setts. OMG

RSPCA reacts to reinstatement of badger cull - (From Smallholder)

.


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## tink1810 (Aug 12, 2014)

this makes me so sad and angry.  x


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