Posted on September 17, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dr. Brian May at Team Badger writes to the Prime Minister about the Conservative Party Badger Cull.
Above – Dr. Brian May (ex ‘Queen’ Guitarist).
A Letter to the Right Honourable Theresa May & Andrea Leadsom MP
The Rt. Hon Theresa May MP, Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA
Cc: The Rt. Hon Andrea Leadsom MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR
19th July 2016
Dear Prime Minister
May I firstly offer our congratulations to you on your appointment as Prime Minister; we wish you every success in this role.
I realise that you will have countless pressing issues in your first days as Prime Minister but, on behalf of the undersigned organisations which constitute ‘Team Badger’, I write to bring to your urgent attention the matter of the badger cull, and to respectfully urge you to instruct Natural England NOT to issue cull licences for 2016 and beyond.
On 12th July three of the country’s most highly qualified experts with experience of badgers and bovine tuberculosis wrote to you to explain their science-based position of opposition to the cull, on the grounds that it is both ineffective and inhumane. Team Badger organisations understand that bovine TB is a serious problem for farmers, requiring meaningful action from government. But the verdict from the overwhelming majority of experts is that this is a disease spread almost entirely through cattle to cattle transmission and, as such, it can only be solved through cattle-based measures such as increased disease testing and enhanced on-farm biosecurity. Using badgers as scapegoats for this disease is failing farmers, as well as badgers.
The badger cull continues to be an extremely unpopular and expensive policy which many millions of British people oppose. Over 70% of respondents to Natural England’s recently concluded consultation conveyed their concerns that a roll-out of the cull could be bad for business, due to people avoiding cull areas. A further 40% expressed fears that the cull could risk human health and safety in shared countryside spaces, and expansion of the cull would mean even greater pressures on police forces, drawing their attention away from crime prevention priorities. All this for a policy which is clearly seen to be failing in its objective.
We further observe that the UK’s commendable goal to be a world leading authority on animal welfare will continue to be seriously undermined if the government seeks to defend a wildlife cull with a methodology that animal welfare experts, including the British Veterinary Association and the Government’s own appointed IEP (Independent Expert Panel), have agreed cannot be carried out humanely and effectively, and has little or no potential for improvements.
Finally, of all your government departments, DEFRA faces perhaps the most acute resource challenges ahead on the Brexit path, making this a highly inopportune time to expand the extremely costly and divisive culling policy into, potentially, nine English counties. With this in mind, we ask that you and your newly appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Andrea Leadsom, take this moment as an opportunity to pause and review the evidence that unequivocally shows culling badgers to be a flawed policy.
Ending the cull will enable focus and funds to be redirected into effective and more humane solutions to bovine TB: the introduction of an effective cattle TB vaccine; increased frequency of testing in higher risk areas allowing better identification and management of the disease; and improved disease containment through risk-based cattle movement controls.
We urge you and your Ministers to examine the success of the Welsh government’s TB policy using such measures, where bovine TB is being driven down at a much faster and more efficient rate than in England, and without culling badgers.
I would very much appreciate the opportunity to speak to you face to face about these issues, if and when you have a moment in your schedule.
Yours sincerely, with respects
Dr Brian May
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Find out everything that is happening to keep up the campaign for the UK badgers currently under government culling at the Team Badger web site:
Some of you oldies (like us !) may remember Brian when he was lead guitarist in the rock group ‘Queen’ – here he is in action at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert – Wembley, London. Guest guitarist – Slash from Guns and Roses:
Posted on September 16, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
SAV Comment
– The EU is supposedly comprised of millions of voting citizens each of whom have a voice in what goes on and how their Europe is run. The reality is that there are just a few ‘elites’ named Junker and Tusk – who, along with their un-elected Commissioners; have total control over what really happens – an action or no action. The people of Europe have no say in the end game. EU citizens have their MEP’s, but they are just a list of names of people who in reality; have no final say or decisions in how the EU moves. It is all really a major cover up by the EU elite to make the people of Europe think they have a say; when in reality they have no say about anything.
It would appear from the following that the EU leadership has some kind of secret strategy to make exit so hard for the UK to leave the EU that it will give up the negotiations and remain a member state.
In June this year the British people voted to get out of the EU; and the British people will make sure that is what happens. The Brits are used to trouble and campaigns with Europe; we fought a few battles there in the past. To Brits this is just another battle; and one which they are determined to get success with. Other democratic nations and peoples around Western Europe are also now thinking the ‘Brexit’ way. Elections in Germany and France next year will show in reality just how the people feel about their ‘democratic’ EU.
Currently this week, EU meetings are taking place with all member states except – yes you have guessed it – the UK; an uninvited but still existing and very much financially contributing member state. At the moment the UK is still a full member state of the EU until it submits a formal ‘Article 50’ to leave. But the Junkers and Tusks are making sure the UK is not now invited to any EU Party; as it is a bad boy and must be punished. Who knows what the ‘masters of the EU’ are planning as retribution to the British people for speaking (and voting) out against them.
The people of the UK want the British government to introduce Article 50 as soon as possible; the formal submission which must be enforced to get exit negotiations under way. The Brit voters have elected to democratically get out and away from the political elites of the EU named Junker and Tusk.
The Brits want to do it as soon as possible – so lets get on and get Article 50 under way Mrs. May (UK Prime Minister).
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Senior figures in the EU believe that Britain will give up on Brexit if they make negotiations as tough as possible, The Telegraph understands.
One senior British official involved in the set-up for the coming negotiations said the EU elite “seem to think the game is to make us change our minds”.
If you wish to send this post link (which includes the video) or a YouTube copy of the video (link above) directly to your national MEP’s, then please use the following link – http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.html
– select ‘your’ country and then click to find out who all the MEP’s are.
Thank god for Brexit – hopefully just the start if this is the ‘caring’ EU that they claim to be !!!!
With caring like this, is it any wonder we gripe at these dead beats ?
Why do we need these in the EU if they are incapable of doing anything ?
Just money for ?? – watching what goes on – we do the same to a degree but we don’t get paid !!
Posted on September 5, 2016 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Dear industry stakeholders involved in the trade of live animals from Europe to Turkey,
For the past six years,
Animal Welfare Foundation, Eyes on Animals, Tierschutzbund Zürich, Compassion in World Farming and Animals´Angels
have been complaining to the EU Commission and the Member State officials about continuous breaches of Regulation (EC) 1/2005 during transports from the EU to Turkey committed by industry stakeholders.
Our experience has sadly shown that too many officials are incompetent- either by ignorance or naivity or lack of motivation. They are approving live-animal export consignments to Turkey whereby the animals are overcrowded, some of the animals are unfit (too pregnant, too weak…) and the journey log is completely bogus (no reserved booking at a control post to guarantee offloading, unrealistic journey times, accepting false control post names such as Kapikule or Svilengrad, claiming temperatures within the max EU range…).
This poses really bad competition for those of you trying to abide by the law and show more respect to the animals, and sets a very bad example to the cheating players in the industry (that they can get away and even profit from their bad attitude and actions).
A few transport companies cleaned up their act by getting rid of some inexperienced or lazy drivers and giving additional training and payment to the ones driving on this complicated route. Some transport companies and organizations agreed to stop sending animals in July and August when the temperatures are known to be too high, but a couple have now taken back their word saying they need to stay in the competition because animal-exporters will just use other companies.
A few livestock-truck manufacturing companies have altered the designs to their water systems and partitions and access doors, to solve some of the problems we were seeing. But sadly we have heard very little from exporters, many of whom continue to send animals on this route, and pressure transporters to load high densities and even highly pregnant cows that end up giving birth on the trucks. And we hear very little back from transport companies that continuously create problems. Even despite us offering their drivers a training course.
But the point is that although we appreciate those of you that at least took some steps, not enough has been done. Not being able to rely very much on authorities, we can only hope that you industry players will finally take the necessary action to put an end to all the horrible and unnecessary suffering and clean up your acts as much as possible.
Become aware of the problems, do not let cheating colleagues get away with it (open your mouths and police yourselves a bit better ). As long as this trade is so ridden with so much suffering , cheating and incompetent people, we will continue to expose it to the media and call for a full suspension.
In late June 2016 our teams were again at the border, for one week and it was the worst we have documented to date. Many dead animals and pregnant heifers giving birth. On top of the usual suffering from heat stress and lack of sufficient water.
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 