RSPCA blasted for badger cull ‘name and shame’ stance
The NFU has blasted the RSPCA after its chief executive suggested that people involved in the badger cull would be “named and shamed”.
Speaking on the BBC Panorama programme Badgers: Dodging the bullet? RSPCA chief executive Gavin Grant warned: “The spotlight of attention will be turned on those marksmen and on those who give permission for this cull to take place.
“They will be named and we will decide as citizens of this country whether they will be shamed.”
Responding to the comments, NFU director of policy Martin Haworth said Mr Grant had “overstepped the mark” and confirmed the NFU’s worst fears that the RSPCA was “no longer a responsible organisation with animal welfare at its core”.
“Mr Grant has actively encouraged people to identify farmers and those carrying out the badger cull pilots next year without a thought for their safety, their family’s safety or the security of their homes,” Mr Haworth added.
“This is tantamount to inciting a campaign of fear and intimidation, which I find wholly unacceptable and completely irresponsible.”
Mr Haworth said he was “extremely disappointed” with the RPSCA’s approach to tackling bovine TB.
“This is not just a badger welfare issue; 34,000 cattle were slaughtered because of TB in Great Britain in 2011,” he said.
“Rather than encouraging the targeting of farmers, the RSPCA would do better to focus its efforts on animal welfare across the board.
“The majority of experts agree a badger vaccination programme in isolation won’t solve this TB crisis, and a cattle vaccine is still years away. In all its rhetoric, the RSPCA has failed to come up with a single workable solution to dealing with this terrible disease.”
An RSPCA spokesman said: “Gavin Grant and the RSPCA have consistently, repeatedly and unreservedly condemned harassment, intimidation or threats of violence to or by anyone involved in the bovine TB debate.
“Those agreeing with us in opposing the pilot badger culls – which include leading scientists and the vast majority of the public – should do so by lawful and peaceful means only.
“We are eager to work constructively with farmers, landowners, scientific experts, the government and the European Commission to tackle bovine TB in cattle and wildlife through vaccination and enhanced biosecurity.
“It is sad that the NFU preference is to continue last summer’s ‘war of words’ rather than joining in with this more constructive approach.”
During the programme, NFU president Peter Kendall claimed there were people within Natural England, the government agency tasked with issuing licences for the cull, who wanted the policy to fail.
“There is a view that there are some people who have not been as helpful as they could have been in delivering this policy,” he told the programme.
A Natural England spokesman said: “We reject the notion that we have somehow deliberately sought to prevent the policy from being put in place.
Natural England worked extremely hard with farmers and government to license badger control in the two pilot areas this year.
“Government policy rightly requires that detailed criteria are met in order that badger control can be delivered effectively, safely and humanely – and we worked rigorously over several months to ensure that the licences met these standards.
“We remain committed to delivering the policy and fully support the government’s determination to eradicate bovine TB.”