Wildlife Hustings in Stroud

We had a great turn out last night in Stroud for the Wildlife debate - standing room only !

It was made quite clear to the Conservative candidate our views on the badger cull and we think he got the message!

Thanks to everyone who came . It was a very lively evening !

Another Year of Badger Culling in Gloucestershire.

Sadly the Badger Cull has begun again in Gloucestershire. 

Last year I joined the Wounded Badger Patrols and after the IEP review concluded that the cull was ineffective and inhumane we believed that the cull would not continue again this year. 

Incredibly the Government ignored the science and it's own evidence and have continued to cull in Gloucestershire this Autumn.  

My role for GABS (Gloucestershire against badger shooting) is Police Liaisons and I also go out on patrols once or twice a week. 

We were very pleased to be joined by Brian May on one evening as he is a big supporter of our Organisation and he has spoken out many times against the cull. 

 

 

Gloucester Vegan Show

Today I Spent the day at Gloucester Vegan Show at The Guildhall. We were invited there to talk about The Wounded Badger Patrols. 

The event was really great with lots of stalls, food tasting, demonstrations and talks. 

I am a vegan and it was very interesting listening to the talks about the reasons to became vegan, animal welfare, questions on the  farming industry, and advice about food options. The Cooking demonstrations were fantastic and really inspiring. 

The other groups at the event included Sea Shepheard, Vervet Monkey Sanctuary,Dean Farm Trust, Mino Valley Farm Animal Sanctuary, and The Vegetarian Food Studio. 

Hundreds Turn Out For Gloucester's Anti Badger Cull March

My husband and I joined about 500 people at the Gloucestershire Against Badger Shooting demonstration in Gloucester city centre on Saturday 19th May. 

Pilot culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset were aimed at limiting the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB).

Earlier this month Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said the pilots would continue.

Organiser Carol Cook said the number of people who turned out to demonstrate shows "it is not acceptable for an industry to be killing our wildlife".

She said they were "sympathetic" towards farmers, but added that the "industry needs to look at its own practices" and improve "bio-security in the farmyards themselves" to stop the spread of the disease.

"It isn't us against the farmers at all - everyone can work together to stop this awful disease," she said.

Conservationist Ian Redmond said most badgers do not have the disease and culling is a "recipe for disaster, not for curing the disease".

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has stated that it can only support further pilot culls if effectiveness and humaneness improved and if there are independent monitors.

The BVA said it was also concerned that if culling in the pilot areas stops now there could be an increased risk of TB in cattle.

Here are some links to see videos from the March. 

-A film by Dianne Bartlett from the Glos Badger March featuring Stroud's Ian Redmond from The Born Free Foundation. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxKW00MceiRtzrt_5GNPi4g/videos

-Domanic Dyer's speech filmed by Ian Redmond. 

http://stroudcommunity.tv/dominic-dyer-addresses-badger-rally-gloucester/

Meeting with Glos Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl

As part of my work with GABS and Glos Wounded  Badger Patrol I was invited to a meeting at Gloucestershire Headquarters with Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl last week.

I am team leader of Glos WBP Legal Liaisons and along with other members of GABS, we met with members of Glos Police and Martin Surl to share and discuss our experiences of the Badger Cull Pilot. 

Afterwards PCC Martin Surl tweeted 

" Vanessa, thanks for coming to see us, tough issues I know, but let's keep the dialogue going".

Why our role at GABS Legal Liasions is still important

"The Independent Experts Panel (IEP) concluded that the cull was both ineffective and inhumane," says Tina Martin, head of GABS's Police Liaison Team, "but claims that there were no public safety issues are completely wrong." During the cull the group kept meticulous records of every incident that occurred during their nightly Wounded Badger Patrols.

"We sent through a specimen list of 26 crimes committed by cullers to the Police in January," continues Tina Martin. " including 5 firearms offences, multiple incidences of harassment and intimidation, wildlife crimes and culling on land without the owner's knowledge or consent. These, however, are just the tip of the iceberg." Of the many harassment incidents, six were committed by the same individual, a man whose attempts at intimidation became so commonplace the group started to refer to him as 'Mullet Man' due to his distinctive hair style.

"We are being frustrated by a very slow response from the police," continues Tina Martin. "We've had several meetings with them since last year and yet there has been very little progress with their investigations. We feel their whole approach to the cull was biased by an assumption that the protest would be 'unlawful', and this led them to completely ignore crimes committed by the cullers."

Some of these crimes happened right in front of officers, including the incident where live ammunition was left on a public footpath. "Not only was this a serious firearms offence but the shooter was acting alone," continues Tina Martin, "this being in direct breach of the safety conditions of the cull licence, which required that night shooters must have another person acting as a safety lookout. The officers on the ground actually led this individual to and from the site, but because they hadn't read the licence conditions they didn't even realise he was committing a crime until we pointed it out."

The GABS Police Liaison Team have reminded police that any breach of the cull licence leading to the death or capture of a badger constitutes a criminal offence under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Equally, secretly adding roadkill badgers to the cull was not only an offence under the Act 1992 but also the criminal offence of fraud.

"Our protests and monitoring of the cull were entirely lawful," concludes Tina Martin, "and it is totally galling that we have uncovered such a wide range of criminal activity amongst the cullers as well as so many threats to public order and safety. The government has been completely irresponsible handing over the cull contract to a company hastily created by the NFU, who have conducted themselves in such an incompetent and dangerous way. However, we will not allow a slow response from the police to let the government get away with claiming the cull was safe, and we will be pursuing all these cases with the police until they are properly resolved."

Working with GABS and it's Wounded Badger Patrol

As I am a great supporter of wildlife I decided to join The Wounded Badger Patrol group to help protect our native Badgers in Gloucestershire.

During the Pilot Badger Cull in late 2013 I took part in the patrols and since then I have become active in GABS (Gloucestershire against Badger Shooting) and I am now team leader of WBP Legal Liaison. 

During the Pilot Cull I was very honoured to meet Brian May, he came out with the Wounded Badger Patrol one night and he is a great supporter of the anti cull movement. 

We are winning the argument comprehensively with the public against killing badgers," says Nick Berry, one of the founders of GABS, "but there seems to be a lot of work still to do with our MPs." GABS is worried that government politicians are ignoring the science and the basic facts about culling in favour of politics and the narrow interests of core rural supporters. "All the science and wildlife organisations predicted this cull would fail," continues Nick Berry, "and now the government's own Independent Experts Panel (IEP) has condemned the cull as ineffective and inhumane. No amount of spin will alter the facts."

"Specious comparisons with other countries are irrelevant and highly misleading. Britain virtually eradicated bTB in the 1950s and 60s by cattle restrictions alone, without killing a single badger. This method has seen the current trend in infections reversed even before the current cull began. In Wales, where cattle controls are being combined with badger vaccination there has been a 23% drop in cattle infections, and we are determined that the same should happen in the rest of the UK."

GABS also point to the enormous cost of the cull compared to vaccination. "The current costs for culling are over £4,000 per badger whereas the estimates for a volunteer assisted vaccination programme are as low as £150 per badger," concludes Nick Berry. "Culling badgers is a huge diversion from the real causes and solutions to Bovine TB. The government needs to stop wasting our tax money on something that patently does not work and concentrate on what does work. Our MPs need to know that we will not tolerate this futile and expensive cull any longer."

To find out more information on GABS and The Wounded Badger Patrol 

http://www.glosagainstbadgershooting.org/home/4574170082