Protesters opposed to government proposals for a badger cull in areas of England affected by bovine TB are expected to submit a 32,000 signature petition condemning the plans today, the last day of a nine week public consultation over the plans. image expired

Campaign group 38 Degrees is due to submit the petition later today. Most comments by those who signed the petition question the effectiveness and humaneness of Defra’s untested ‘free shooting’ method and suggest other measures be taken before the government resorts to killing badgers. 

27 online petitions, including an online campaign by the Labour party, have gathered in excess of 65,000 signatures of cull opponents and the consultation period has seen submissions and public statements from high profile opponents including Sir David Attenborough and Lord Krebs, who oversaw the trial cull on which Defra’s evidence is based.

Defra’s chief vet, Nigel Gibbens, however, has vociferously supported government policy. He last week attempted to answer questions posed by 38 Degrees members in an effort to “correct” what he saw as “inaccuracies” on the site.

38 Degrees and Badger Trust to work together  

38 Degrees and the Badger Trust today announced plans to work together; the Trust said the 38 Degrees petition would remain open and accessible from its own website in the hope of securing even more signatures, although the public consultation has closed.

The Labour party has been outspoken in its opposition of Defra’s plans; shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh has been highly critical of the coalition government’s rural policy since it came to power. The MP for Wakefield has questioned the Tories commitment to the countryside. She said, "The government's plans to cull badgers are bad for farmers, bad for badgers and bad for the taxpayer. We need a science-led policy to manage cattle movements and develop a vaccine to tackle TB in badgers and cattle."

Representatives from the farming industry have also criticised the government plans as “unworkable” in their current incarnation. Their focus, however, is on the cost to the farmer; the NFU has said it does not believe Defra is taking enough financial responsibility for the cull trails and instead passing the risk on to farmers. The trails will have to be carried out over a four year period if they are passed.

Natural England, the government body who would be responsible for administering licences and overseeing running of the culls under Defra’s plans, stated in its submission that, in their current form, it had a ‘low level of confidence’ the proposals would yield the results Defra claimed. Defra Ministers will now examine the stakeholder submissions; they are expected to make an announcement towards the end of the year on whether or not trial culls will go ahead.