Combining Art and Activism to Save Badgers and End the Cull.
Wildlife Artivism to End the Cull is our community art campaign to save badgers and end the cull.
Badgers are facing tough times. For the first time in history, badger setts across England are lying empty. Half the population of one of our most iconic native wild animals is being wiped from parts of our landscape because of the badger cull.
You can help. Be inspired by our Wildlife Artivism Artists and take action for badgers in creative ways.
Everyone can take part – YOU can change the world for badgers by using art for environmental change.
But first up, please sign our petition to End the Cull. Then read on for creative inspiration and get involved!
Free Wildlife Artivism BADGER template
Download and print our exclusive A4 Badger Artivism template.
From sending a beautiful letter with a deeply serious message to creating campaign posters and factsheets, you can share the badger’s beauty and ecological importance.
At the same time, you'll be raising awareness of the cull's dire threat to England's badger population.
Write a letter
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A beautifully illustrated letter will stand out from the crowd! Print off our BADGER Artivism template to write a letter to your MP, local election candidates, national and regional media outlets, prominent wildlife and nature campaigners and organisations, and local community groups and organisations, clubs and societies.
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Explain why you want their support to End the Cull.
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Raise awareness of the badger cull's devastating effect on England’s badgers and biodiversity.
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Need help with your letter? Use our How to Write to your MP letter-writing tips. Facts about the cull.
Create an End the Cull poster to display locally
Grab your pencils, paints, crayons or whatever you like to use and get creating for badgers.
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Use our BADGER Artivism template to create your own End the Cull poster.
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Display your poster locally so other people can see it.
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Share a photo of your poster on your social media, tag #badgertrust and #endthecull or email a photo to hello@badgertrust.org.uk. We’ll share as many as we can.
Create and illustrate a ‘Three Fun Facts About Badgers’ factsheet.
Creating a badger factsheet is a perfect educational activity for kids of all ages.
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Check out our Badger Education web page.
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Watch the Secret Life of Badgers film and pick out three fun facts about badgers.
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Download a BADGER Artivism template for your factsheet. Write in your fun facts – you can illustrate them, too.
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Share your factsheet so others can learn fun facts about badgers too!
Meet the Wildlife Artivism to End the Cull Artists
‘Wildlife Artivism to End the Cull’ is a project spearheaded by six wildlife artists who have come together to support the campaign to end the badger cull.
”Wildlife Artivism is truth storytelling. It combines art and activism to push for environmental change by inspiring empathy towards the natural world.“
Wildlife Artist, Martin Aveling
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Martin Aveling (Mart)
Mart has been a finalist at Wildlife Artist of the Year more times than anyone. He coined the phrase ‘wildlife artivism’ to encourage stronger calls to action in the field of wildlife art, and In 2021 he was awarded the inaugural David Shepherd Art of Survival award in recognition of this. He is a global ambassador for Derwent Pencils and provided the artwork for their pastel pencil range, his favourite medium for 25 years.
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Most recently Mart has been working in collaboration with his 2-year-old daughter, combining her instinctive mark-making with his 40+ years of refined pencil technique.
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Alicia Hayden
Alicia is a creative conservationist and wildlife artist from north Yorkshire, now based in Bristol. In 2021 she won the ‘Human Impact’ category (in memory of Ingrid Beazley) at Wildlife Artist of the Year with her piece, ‘When the Whale Sang’, which explored the impact of noise pollution on cetaceans. She is an official Daler-Rowney artist, and works with a variety of organisations across the world, with the aim of reaching new audiences and inciting positive action and thought about the natural world.
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When she is not working on freelance projects, she works at the BBC Natural History Unit in children’s TV.
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Claire Heffron
Claire is a wildlife artist with a lifelong passion and deep connection with nature. When Claire reignited her love for art in 2019, the most authentic subject of choice was the wildlife she adored. She has since pledged to use her art as a voice for wildlife, often highlighting the plight of endangered species and raising funds for wildlife charities.
Claire has exhibited across a variety of venues in the UK including London’s Oxo Tower and the Mall Galleries.
Claire lives adjacent to ancient woodland, which often leads to her nurturing wildlife in need such as birds, hedgehogs, badgers and more recently, offering a release site for the Fox Project, caring for orphaned fox cubs until they were ready for life in the wild.
Jess Pritchard
Jess is a multi-award-winning wildlife conservation artist. She began her professional art career eight years ago and has since taken part in multiple high-profile exhibitions up and down the UK including a solo exhibition at Worcester Cathedral and Wildlife Artist of the Year at the Mall Galleries in London where her artwork was awarded the title of ‘hero piece’ to be used on all publicity material for the exhibition.
Jess is an ambassador for Derwent Art, Britain’s largest pencil brand and has also raised thousands of pounds for wildlife conservation including establishing her own wildlife fund to support a handful of projects close to her heart.
Her mission is to raise awareness of the vulnerability of the planet and the species that live on it.
Sarah Stribbling
Sarah is a published wildlife conservation artist from the UK specialising in highly detailed oil paintings and pencil drawings. She has always been passionate about wildlife and the natural world, and has a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology and a Masters degree in Biodiversity and Conservation.
Sarah draws a lot of her inspiration from years of travelling and knowledge in the zoological field. Through this she creates intricate oil paintings and drawings that capture the animal's personality and spirit.
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Sarah believes in the power of promoting conservation through art and has so far raised over £12,000 for conservation charities.
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Tracy Warner
Tracy is an award-winning artist who left the corporate world to follow her life-long passion for art. She studied both Graphic Design and Earth Sciences to satisfy the desire to learn more about creativity and our incredible planet. Based in the Northamptonshire countryside, the inspiration for her art comes from both the wildlife that surrounds her and a drive to raise awareness of the plight facing our wild animals.
Specialising in colour pencils, Tracy’s style is delicate and detailed, focusing on the texture and colours in nature. Her work encompasses colourful, vibrant flora, the tiny creatures found in the garden and larger wildlife both at home and abroad. She spends her studio time working on commissions and creating wildlife art for sale or donation to conservation efforts.
Wildlife Artivism Videos
Watch our six 'Wildlife Artivism to End the Cull' artists get together, and see the exclusive artwork they created.
“I’ve got you down for Death By Shotgun”
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Wildlife Artivist Martin Aveling takes a satirical view of DEFRA's approach to Bovine TB
By the end of 2024, half of the badger population in Britain will have been killed through culling, a measure introduced by the UK government 11 years ago in an unscientific attempt to curb bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle.
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94% of bTB infections in cattle occur from cow to cow.
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Leave the badgers out of it!
Please help us End The Cull and Save Badgers
Wildlife Artivism to End the Cull. Video © Martin Aveling
Wildlife Artivism tee shirts, hoodies and more from Teemill
We've teamed up with Teemill to bring you an exclusive range of badger-themed clothing and more. Show your love for badgers knowing that 100% of the profit from every purchase supports Badger Trust's work to protect these amazing native animals and their habitats.
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We use organic materials that are better for the environment
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Renewable energy powers production from the sun and wind
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We ship orders in packaging made from plants, not plastic
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Visit our Teemill Shop now to see the full range >
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