Article in Newbury Today written by John Garvey
Petition against badger culling attracts thousands of signatures.
Culling is part of the Government’s strategy to eradicate the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle, but opponents say there is no evidence it works.
Almost 20,000 people have signed a petition against controversial proposals to extend the badger cull into West Berkshire.
Natural England which issues the licences to kill the animals, said applications and expressions of interest had come from areas of “high risk”
The licences allow badgers to be culled every year between June 1 and January 31.
A petition opposing the extended cull was launched by West Berkshire Green Party chairman Steve Masters and so far has racked up more than 9,400 signatures.
The petition calls on the government to abandon the extension of the cull into West Berkshire, to invest in better testing methods and to invest in badger and cattle vaccination as an alternative to shooting.
The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), which manages Greenham and Snelsmore Commons among many others, said it would not allow a cull to take place on its land.
The Trust also claimed that new evidence showed many badgers in the area do not have bovine tb.
West Berkshire Council has also backed the Trust’s position.
For the rest of the article click here: http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/24687/petition-against-badger-culling-attracts-thousands-of-signatures.html
To sign the petition click here: http://www.change.org/p/george-eustice-mp-stop-the-badger-cull-in-west-berkshire?utm_medium=email&ut…
