Protect the Wild petition - Help it reach 100,000!

 

Badger image from Badger Trust 2025 Calendar February © Edwin Godinho We're taking a stand!   Hello Terry A lot has been happening behind the scenes at Badger Trust, and we can't wait to share it with you!🦡 From crucial meetings with Defra to the latest on legal challenges, cull petitions, and the arrival of our brilliant new ambassador - there's so much to catch up on.  We also couldn't leave you empty handed on Valentine's Day, so we have a LOVE-ly offer exclusive for enews readers from our Teemill shop❤️ Legal Updates Supplementary Cull with Wild Justice In collaboration with Wild Justice, we are still actively challenging Natural England and Defra's dismissal of their own scientific recommendations to halt the supplementary badger cull. With the next cull scheduled for June 2025, our efforts to prevent it remain unwavering. Bern Convention with Born Free and Eurogroup for Animals Together with Born Free and Eurogroup for Animals, we are still pursuing the UK Government through the Bern Convention process, aiming to cease the cull due to its detrimental impact on a native species, potentially leading to local extinctions. We are advocating for the badger cull to be addressed in an upcoming Convention meeting and are urging the UK Government be made to justify its actions. Sentience Committee with RSPCA and Born Free In partnership with Born Free and the RSPCA, we have submitted evidence to the UK Animal Sentience Committee concerning the badger cull, particularly focusing on the inhumane practice of free shooting. We argue that this constitutes an unwarranted attack on a native species, employing methods that are both cruel and unjustifiable.  The Labour government has introduced a new strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which includes initiatives such as a badger population study and vaccination programs. They have also committed to ending the badger cull by the end of the parliamentary term and plan to consult with relevant organisations on this approach.  Badger Trust is among the wildlife groups consulting on the government's new bTB strategy.  Meetings with Defra Badger Trust, along with other members of Wildlife and Countryside Link, has engaged in two meetings with Defra officials. During these discussions, we have advocated for an immediate end to the cull and emphasised the importance of focusing on cattle-related measures, including cattle vaccination. Cattle are overwhelming spreaders of the disease and this is backed up by government data (94% of bTB transmission), therefore we firmly believe that new policies should prioritise this area.  We will continue to engage constructively with Defra, submitting proposals and evidence on bTB as requested.  Protect the Wild petition - Help it reach 100,000! Badger Trust supports the Protect the Wild petition, which seeks to gather 100,000 signatures to prompt a parliamentary debate on the badger cull. Currently, the petition has over 54,000 signatures. We encourage you to sign and share it widely to urge the government to explain why they are continuing with this cruel cull, despite their election manifesto saying it was ineffective.  Sign the petition >