The government announced today (21st December 2017) that if had licensed the largest slaughter of a protected species in living memory. This politically motivated wildlife eradication policy has costs the public purse at least £50 million and is pushing the badger to the verge of local extinction in parts of England where it has lived since the ice age
The Badger Trust has been speaking out on this issue today in the media, but we are now largely a lone voice
Where are the other major wildlife protection and environment NGO’s, where is the Labour Party on this issue why are they not also issuing press releases and speaking out in the media today
I know it’s Christmas and the government is looking to bury bad news as we all prepare for a much needed break, but our badgers deserve better than this
The government and the farming industry will take comfort from the fact that the reaction to what can only be described as a monumental wildlife crime has been muted today
I can only hope in 2018 the rest of the wildlife and conservation moment and the Labour opposition, will wake up to what we are now facing when it comes to protecting our wildlife
They will come for our badgers today, but it will be our otters, raptors, beavers and seals next.
The battle to protect the badger is far more than just a fight to protect a shy nocturnal mammal most of us never see. It’s a fight for the very future of our countryside and the wildlife that inhabits it
Let’s hope we all realise this before it’s too late.
Ama Menec
