'Greatest assault on Britain's nature in our lifetime': Thousands of badgers set for slaughter in Staffordshire and Shropshire
Animal charity Badger Trust is holding a peaceful demonstration after it was revealed that almost 28,000 badgers have been set for slaughter, including thousands from Staffordshire and Shropshire.
New figures seen through Freedom of Information requests shared with charity Badger Trust show that nearly 28,000 badgers have been marked for slaughter in licences issued under the 'controversial' supplementary cull that started on June 1, 2024.
And of those, 1,457 will be culled from Staffordshire, in a move that Badger Trust has called the 'greatest assault on nature in Britain in our lifetime'.
As well as that, Shropshire will see a total of 2,382 badgers slaughtered.
It comes after Natural England reauthorised and granted 17 existing Supplementary badger control licences and nine new ones, on May 6, 2024.
Adding this figure to the already expected figures for this autumn’s planned intensive badger cull means that 2024 will reach the 'horrific tally of a quarter of a million badgers slaughtered since the badger cull began in 2013'.
Badger Trust has written to the newly appointed Minister for Nature, Mary Creagh CBE MP, to protect nature and 'stop this cull immediately'.
Ms Creagh is a Minister in Defra - the government department responsible for the cull.
And, in an effort to halt the continued killing of badgers, Badger Trust is holding a 'day of action' on Tuesday, September 3, from 11am to 2pm, when supporters will gather in Parliament Square and hold a peaceful demonstration against the badger cull.
Peter Hambly, chief executive of Badger Trust, said: “A quarter of a million badgers killed for a mainly cattle-to-cattle spread disease - bovine tuberculosis - is the greatest assault on nature in Britain in our lifetimes. Unlike Scotland and Wales, England focuses unfairly on the badger and carries out an unethical and ineffective cull.
"The new government admitted the cull is ineffective in its election manifesto, so we are calling on the Minister for Nature to stop the slaughter that is happening right now. This slaughter should not continue on her watch.
"Tens of thousands of badgers are being killed when the Labour Government knows it doesn’t work. This policy makes no sense, and this iconic and popular native species must be protected now.”
The charity went on to say that local extinction events are happening right now in parts of England’s southwest as 'the hammering' of the local badger population continues.
A spokesperson for the Badger charity said: "This mass killing is a threat to the existence of these protected native animals in our local areas. The badger cull not only threatens the survival of the badger population, it disrupts the delicate balance of our ecosystems, leading to devastating long-term consequences for badgers and nature.
"Badger Trust has called a National Day of Action Against the Cull outside Parliament on Tuesday, September 3.
"If you can’t make it, we ask that you make an appointment to see your newly elected MP in your local area that week to show your opposition to the unpopular badger cull."
The charity said that on September 3 they will join their allies to present petitions containing thousands of names calling for an end to the cull to Defra Secretary of State Steve Reed MP at the Defra offices.
Then, from 11am to 2pm, supporters will gather in Parliament Square, where they will hold a peaceful demonstration against the badger cull.
They will finish with supporters entering Parliament for a mass lobby of MPs and call for an immediate end to the 'ineffective and unethical cull'.
In April a badger was captured on video enjoying a bit of window shopping in Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Centre in Cleveland Street.
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