New Year 2009

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2009. This purpose of this issue is to bring everyone up to date on recent events. If you would like more information about any of the topics, please click on the links provided or contact Mike at badgers@badgersni.org.uk

Minister tells Assembly she will ‘develop plans for badger removal programme’

In our last newsletter we revealed that the Irish News had exposed plans by the Department of Agriculture (DARD) to carry out a ‘scientific intervention’ on Northern Ireland badgers. Since then Michelle Gildernew formally announced a bovine TB strategy which includes progressing a badger prevalence study and developing plans for a badger removal trial. Despite the carefully structured wording, this is widely interpreted as a ‘back door’ cull. It’s believed that the Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson, supports this proposal. Any action involving badgers will require a licence from his Department. More information about the Agriculture Minister’s announcement can be found on our website http://www.badgersni.org.uk/TB%20STATEMENT.pdf

Hysteria

This move is taken against the best available expert advice and appears to serve no useful purpose other than to defuse the anti-badger hysteria generated by politicians and some sections of the farming community.

The Minister’s decision has been taken on the advice of a small and exclusive ‘key stakeholder’ group comprising vets and farming interests. Wildlife stakeholders and the general public have been kept in the dark about these plans and the lack of transparency has further undermined the fragile credibility of those responsible.

Unfounded, unethical and unacceptable

Previous culling trials and current expert opinion indicate that the proposed badger intervention or removal programmes will do nothing to reduce the prevalence of bovine TB in cattle. We believe that any action against badgers for political gain is unfounded, unethical and unacceptable.

Claims by politicians and Farmers Unions that ‘TB is disastrous for wildlife’ are untrue. Studies have shown that only around 1% of badgers are adversely affected by TB. By contrast, and to put this into context, around 20% are killed on our roads each year.

‘SETT UP’ Campaign

The Northern Ireland Badger Group, along with the Badger Trust and Badger Watch Ireland, opposes any badger intervention strategy. We are currently planning our ‘SETT UP’ campaign. See our website www.badgersni.org.uk for more details.

Meanwhile we urge you to email or write to the Agriculture and Environment Ministers as well as your local MLAs and the Agriculture Committee to register your opposition to any interference in our badger population. You will find email links and prepared letters to download at http://www.badgersni.org.uk/nocull.html. Please make your voice heard.