When Dr Paul Monaghan of the SNP raised an EDM about the badger cull at the start of the year, NFA was one of the first organisations to report on it. After speaking to Dr Monaghan, we asked for your support in highlighting the EDM to your MPs, and to share your opinions on the badger cull with them.
You did not let us down, and thanks to people like you, who are fiercely opposed to the badger cull, many MPs turned up in Westminster yesterday to debate the subject raised by Dr Monaghan.
Click here to watch the debate
Sadly, the government started culling badgers last week, and this debate won’t change that. However it shone a light on the fact that those MPs who are pro-cull are relying on anecdotal evidence to support their stance. Their “evidence” is not backed up by the latest government report on the first two years of culling, and is not backed up by science.
Tory MP, Steve Double described badgers as “Britain’s biggest rodent”, highlighting his disdain for this protected species, as well as his ignorance about the type of animal they are. Whilst Tory MP, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown questioned why Dr Monaghan had even raised the issue of badger culling, given he was a Scottish MP, and Scotland isn’t involved in the badger cull. This is in spite of the fact that badger culling is something that people all across the UK find abhorrant, and a policy which is costing tax-payers millions of pounds every year, on both sides of the border.
On the contrary, Dr Monaghan, along with many Labour MPs such as Rachael Maskell, Shadow Secretary for the Environment, and Kerry McCarthy, stressed the importance of evidence-based policy and biosecurity measures, as well as raising the important matter of cattle vaccination and the DIVA test, which is the most crucial scientific development needed in order to start vaccinating cattle against bTB.
NFA would like to thank Dr Monaghan for raising the EDM and arranging the debate, as well as all the MPs who turned up to speak out against this cruel and irrational policy. Most importantly, we would like to thank you, our supporters for making your voices heard.
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