Badger supporters send a clear message to new Defra Secretary of State – Stop the Cull

Badger Trust Staff Team
Sep 7, 2022
6 min read

Updated: Mar 1, 2023

Badger Trust joins North East Hampshire Badger Group to campaign against the badger cull in Ranil Jayawardena MP’s cull zone constituency on his first day in office.

Ranil Jayawardena, MP for North East Hampshire, has been appointed the new Secretary of State for the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

The Defra Secretary of State is responsible for the licensed killing of badgers through the ongoing badger cull. In response to his appointment, Badger Trust and North East Hampshire Badger Group joined forces in his cull zone constituency to campaign against the cull.

Peter Hambly and his Badger Trust colleagues with NE Hampshire Badger Group protesting against the badger cull in local MP and new Defra Secretary of State's NE Hampshire constituency © Badger Trust 2022

Peter Hambly, Executive Director of Badger Trust, said:

“The badger cull is simply not justified and the new Secretary of State could call an immediate halt while he reviews all the evidence and plans a more effective way of dealing with bTB in cattle. The badger cull does not work from scientific, animal welfare or cost perspectives.

The present drought and extreme weather conditions also mean that badger populations in intensively culled zones are under severe strain – further intensive culling could lead to local extinction events in many areas.

Hampshire is a newer intensive culling area, but it could join the likes of Dorset, Somerset and Devon in having thousands of badgers killed over the coming years. The badger cull is an avoidable wildlife catastrophe driven by relentless human interference – 250,000 years of an iconic native mammal brought to an end through flawed government policy.

Mr Jayawardena should start with a clean slate and halt the cull today. He should follow the evidence and focus on cattle, not the badger.”

Peter Hambly also recorded a video message for the new Secretary of State from his North East Hampshire constituency. He told him, “Badgers have thrived in this country for 500,000 years. Don’t let it be on your watch that badgers become extinct in some parts of the country” and urged him to “Do the right thing and stop the cull now.”

Nick Cole, Founder and Chair of NE Hampshire Badger Group, also had a message for Mr Jayawardena:

“I would say to Ranil the cull is unjustified on every level. And perhaps if he stepped outside the confines of Defra and looked to the peer-reviewed and independent science he'd probably be inclined to agree.

I have always had quite a decent relationship with Ranil and, as a constituent MP, he's always been very responsive. I hope that can continue now that he is at Defra and I'm heading up a local Badger Group. He is very welcome to come on one of our sett surveys; we've got one coming up in 3 weeks' time, though I'll be surprised if he accepted that.

In terms of North East Hampshire Badger Group, we're part of the APHA Severn Edge project and to date, they've identified no badgers in Hampshire that have tested positive for bTB. There are a couple of cases where they're undertaking further tests because badger carcasses have been found to have bacteria in the same group at bTB, but at the moment they have got zero per cent bTB return.

And if that doesn't tell him something then he's not listening.”

Badger supporters #TellRanil about the badger cull

Mr Jayawardena has a hashtag, promoted on his social media accounts, calling on people to #TellRanil. So with record levels of opposition and public support for the cull at an all-time low, we asked badger supporters what they would like to tell Ranil about the ongoing slaughter of 176,928 protected badgers (and counting) to control a cattle disease. Here’s a selection of their responses so far:

Twitter

“Show us that you are a man of reason, show us that you are a man who listens to the People, show us that you are a man who has compassion. Follow the facts & Can the Cull. The evidence does not support the continued slaughter. Minister, show us that you are worthy of your office.”

“If you support #EvidenceBasedPolicy, the #BadgerCull should end. Ineffective, expensive, time-consuming due to its unpopularity. Far more effective measures available. #CanTheCull #TellRanil”

“Stop ineffectually, cruelly and expensively slaughtering innocent, supposedly protected, iconic British #wildlife - the problem is with farming cattle, not #badgers trying to survive in ever decreasing #natural habitat.”

“Please #StopTheCull @TeamRanil, #BovineTB is in the HERD not in the clan!

The #BadgerCull is anti-scientific, cruel, ineffective and a colossal waste of taxpayers' money.”

“I want you to STOP THE MASS SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENT BADGERS WHO ARE PROTECTED BY UK LAW Stop it today and cherish our native wildlife and wild spaces. You are there to serve our wishes, this is mine.”

“I'd like to remind @ranil that #BOVINEtb is in the Herd, NOT the Clan... “

“Can the cull!! 🦡🦡🦡”

Facebook

“#TellRanil For far too long now those in seats of power have ignored what the scientists and experts have been telling us for so long. We need a government to be brave enough to admit that this slaughter policy is not working, end the cull and begin acting on the science. If this is what our country does to a protected species then God help the unprotected ones.”

“#TellRanil If you read the scientific literature it will tell you that the badger cull isn't working. The issue is in the herd not the clan. Even your own vets think the cull is inhumane. Do the right thing and #canthecull “

“Ranil Jayawardena MP it’s time to #CanTheCull 😤💔

If the science and public outcry alone isn’t enough, I’d like to invite you to spend an evening at my badger sett to see for yourself what innocent, gentle and beautiful animals they truly are.

The earliest traces of badgers in Britain have been dated back to half a million years ago, meaning badgers once co-existed with wolves, brown bears, arctic foxes and wolverines. It’s OUR time to co-exist now.”

“Your own vets are telling you the cull does nothing to reduce the incidence of tb in cattle, so stop the cull immediately!”

“Don’t give in to agribusiness over biodiversity. That’s a short road to a depleted world. Do we want to live in a country where only rats and pigeons are flourishing. Badgers can’t move into cities like foxes have. They are protected by law for good reason. This will send the wrong message to everyone that badgers are the enemy.”

“Stop the slaughter of these beautiful animals thousands have already suffered and perished due to the drought and no food …some areas in the UK badgers are now extinct but still TB in cattle continues the main problem for infection being cattle movement which farmers regularly do”

“Please stop the Badger CULL, the younger generation of children growing up will never know the beauty of the Badgers.... Must stop now, do the decent thing.”

“Please abolish the badger cull immediately 🙏”

“That vaccination is the way forward and culling a protected species is not necessary.”

How YOU can HELP BADGERS NOW

There are many ways you can help protect badgers and oppose the government's failing, unscientific and cruel badger cull:

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Bookmark to thank you for protecting badgers

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