BY ROBIN CARPENTER
The soon to be obsolete Wild Justice are requesting an immediate cease of the badger cull despite the glaring and undeniable evidence of its substantial effectiveness. They prove once again they put wildlife before livestock and don’t give a damn about Britain’s rural economy. They are costing taxpayers with their pathetic stance. It’s odd how a group that constantly moans about the cost of the cull chooses to inflate it at every opportunity. The cost of policing culls is going through the roof.
Meanwhile, as if throwing the £38,525 donated by its followers to the wind did not suffice, Wild Justice have slimed their way into parliament during a time of great turmoil and change. There are ‘experts’ and then there are actual experts. They merit doors slammed in their faces. The exact point of their fundraising seems only to be known by Wild Justice. Note how a judge was similarly dumbfounded by Wild Justice’s swiftly debunked latest lawfare case:
“I am left with the firm impression that the application for costs did not grapple with the real issues from the outset and should not have been made.”
Legal warfare is not a new strategy for these fringe groups, far from it. The Wildlife Trust also wastes time, money, and resources. Who do they think is sifting through the oceans of emails, letters, and online form responses? Defra received contributions from 20,395 respondents 18,886 of the responses received via email were part of a campaign organised by the Wildlife Trust. 1,027 responses were received through Citizen Space, their online consultation platform. 19,363 responses were received via email. 5 people decided to go the old-fashioned route and send letters through the post. Which means a whopping 90% of the garbage they had to sift through was due to the Wildlife Trust whining about the ongoing cull.
What a waste of resources.
Wild Justice are now stamping their feet. They boast:
“Last year, over 106,000 of you signed our petition asking for a ban on shooting Badgers in England. Yesterday, we finally heard that our petition will be debated in Parliament very soon – Monday 14th March at 16:30.”
The debate will be opened by Nick Fletcher. With all that is going on locally and globally there they are still playing their single string harp, wasting precious parliamentary time.
Well, let us be clear, Wild Justice:
You’ve managed to open a debate so you will now be getting one. The government is well informed of the studies and projections. They will not be cowed into submission through your propaganda and lies. All you are bringing to light is the new awareness across parliament that fringe groups are not worth the time of day.
Here are the simple facts which – given a wakening dose of reality – your wide-eyed and gullible followers may even comprehend:
- Effectiveness of the badger cull in the original cull zones in Gloucestershire and Somerset showed a 66% reduction in new TB breakdowns in cattle in Gloucestershire and a 37% reduction in Somerset. (2)
- The licensing of new intensive badger culls, which have effectively helped reduce BTB rates by half in certain areas, will cease after 2022. (3)
- The NFU and Natural England (NE) consider that COVID-19 restrictions have disrupted processes required for badger disease control licence applications, such as landholder sign-up. NE suggested considering removal of the annual default maximum of ten licences for 2022 or permit applications for a further year (until 2023) to provide an opportunity for applicants unable to progress applications in 2020 and 2021. (4)
Welcome to a new age, animal rights hypocrites, where you’ll be taken on across social media, where MPs will be repeatedly peppered with facts and communications which tell the Truth to expose your propaganda, where your crowdfunders will face reality checks and get reported directly to the Charity Commission Investigation Unit and, where applicable, the police if they are at all askew. It’s you and your propaganda now versus facts and reality checks.
Dear Readers, Farmers and Countrysiders, this is our opportunity to contact our MP’s and make our feelings known. For all the good people reading this who know the benefits of the ongoing cull this is your chance to get your voice heard in parliament.
There is a letter provided below that you can print out and sign or send to your MP by email. Better yet, put in your own words how important this issue is to you and the greater community. Ask your representative to come forward and stand your corner. Let your voices be heard rising above those who want to take away your way of life with no understanding or regard for the damage they would be causing.
The days of rotten policy put forward by fringe dime store activist hucksters is over for the Countryside. Time to steamroller over them – they never represented farmers or those who do the actual heavy lifting in the countryside. Now get your printers whirring and your outboxes pinging!
Let’s protect our precious livestock. Let’s use the growing anger in the Countryside to wipe out any lingering resistance to common sense.
- https://basc.org.uk/download/283704/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49957-6
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-next-phase-of-strategy-to-combat-bovine-tuberculosis-in-england
- (9.7)https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989616/bTB-strategy-consultation-response2021.pdf
Either download the letter as a WORD DOC:
Or COPY & PASTE from below:
Dear_____
I am writing to you as one of your constituents, to ask you to stand up for a wildlife issue that is very important to me. Last year a petition calling for an immediate ban on shooting Badgers in England gathered over 106,000 signatures. This petition has been created at a time of great turmoil worldwide. Although I feel this was a very poorly timed petition I would hope that the importance of allowing the cull to continue will not be ignored.
The petition is being debated in Westminster Hall, on Monday March 14th at 16:30. As your constituent, I am asking you to attend this debate, and support the on-going cull.
The badger cull in the original cull zones in Gloucestershire and Somerset showed a 66% reduction in new TB breakdowns in cattle in Gloucestershire and a 37% reduction in Somerset, this is concrete evidence of the cull working.
The NFU and Natural England (NE) consider that COVID-19 restrictions have disrupted processes required for badger disease control licence applications. The government should use the evidence and studies provided to reach its goals considering the evident struggles within the farming and pest control community.
New figures published by Defra show that it cost just over £4 million to police the badger culls across all participating forces in 2020. Due to fringe groups brainwashing the public, people are putting their lives in danger, disturbing the badgers and costing taxpayers money. Catering to their relentless vilification of the cull empowers their unruly and sometimes illegal activities.
Defra plans to expand surveillance, testing cattle for bTB every six months throughout the High-Risk Area, beginning from 1st January 2022. Trials of the bTB cattle vaccine also began in June, with plans to deploy it by 2025 if it proves successful. To end the cull prematurely would cause all efforts and the tangible progress thus far achieved to be wasted. The plans set out have yet to be achieved and without this key step in halting BTB England will never reach its TB free status by 2038.
The cull has also been beneficial to ground nesting birds and hedgehogs whose numbers have been under threat.
If you are unable to appear in person I ask that you share my views with your backbench colleagues who may be able to attend as I feel this is an important step towards a healthy and lucrative farming future in England.
Signed
Your name
Your address
Your phone number