Mass protest at slaughter of badgers
This is London - 8th January 2001
Animal rights campaigners are taking to the streets throughout the UK
to protest against the killing of thousands of badgers blamed for
infecting cattle.
The National Federation of Badger Groups (NFBG) says the Government is
using the badgers as a scapegoat to avoid the issue of improving cattle
welfare.
The campaign group says as many as 20,000 badgers are being killed in
an "experiment to prove they give bovine TB to cattle''.
But the group says: "The experiment is nothing more than another
delaying tactic, fending off the day when government and farmers have to
recognise that improving cattle welfare is more likely to solve this
persistent problem.''
Dr Elaine King, conservation officer for the NFBG added: "Members of
the National Federation of Badger Groups are not opposed to farmers or
farming.
"We oppose the Ministry of Agriculture's failure to address this
problem in an intelligent and sustainable way.
"Farmers themselves tell us that slaughtering wildlife is harming the
public's perception of their industry. We are not the only ones who want a
solution here, farmers want it too.''
The NFBG is recommending a vaccine for cattle; a more reliable
diagnostic blood test for TB in cattle and research into the transmission
and epidemiology of the disease.
It also wants research into other factors leading to TB in cattle, and
an investigation into cattle husbandry and farming practices which
increase the risk of infection.
RSPB Spotlight on Badgers book |
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James
Lowen explores the lives of badgers and their communal
living, feeding habits and threats to their conservation. Click
here to buy: Paperback edition
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