Tens of thousands of badgers in England are threatened with slaughter due to a misguided attempt to control tuberculosis in cattle. Killing badgers as a means of controlling the spread of the disease has been overwhelmingly declared ineffective by a host of eminent scientific experts.
In addition, the current plans by the UK government to allow farmers and landowners to organize the free-shooting of these iconic mammals will not only result in many badgers suffering a slow painful death, but there is no guarantee that local populations won’t be wiped out, or at least severely disrupted.
HSI opposes the mass slaughter of badgers as a means of controlling bovine TB, and calls on the governments of both England and Wales to concentrate resources on reducing cattle-to-cattle spread and researching preventative methods to protect badgers and cattle. Join our campaign to protect badgers.
News
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March 20, 2012
HSI/UK Welcomes Wales’ Decision to Abandon Badger Cull
A statement confirming that the Welsh Assembly had dropped plans to slaughter badgers in favour of a five-year vaccination scheme was welcome news for badgers, cattle and farmers alike.
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February 28, 2012
Bill Oddie and MPs Support HSI's Official Complaint Against Badger Cull
Conservationist Bill Oddie and MPs from all sides of the House showed their support their support for a formal complaint to the Bern Convention against the British government’s proposed slaughter of badgers.
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January 19, 2012
Badger Kill Zones Revealed: Local Badgers Could Be Wiped Out, Warns HSI UK
HSI UK reacted strongly to DEFRA’s announcement of England’s pilot badger cull zones, warning that local badger clans risked being completely eradicated in these areas.
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December 14, 2011
DEFRA’s English Badger Cull Decision Breaches Bern Convention, Says HSI UK
HSI UK submitted a formal complaint to the Bern Convention against the UK in response to the announcement by DEFRA Minister for Agriculture, Caroline Spelman, that the government would proceed with two pilot studies to slaughter badgers in England.