The Government have announced that the proposed cull of badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset will not take place until next Summer at the earliest. Like a true politician the Defra minister, Owen Paterson, blamed the weather, the Olympics and too many badgers for the delay. We're surprised he didn't mention leaves on the line as well!Badger-4751-300x204

We will use this extra time to be even better prepared, if and when the cull finally starts. We have had a massive surge in membership and interest from people sickened by the proposed slaughter and we will be working hard throughout the winter months to complete our preparations against the cull. Local hunt saboteur groups have already informed us that they intend to maintain pressure on fox hunts and game bird shoots within the zones through legal direct action and groups from across the country will continue to survey throughout the winter so that if the cull starts we will know exactly where the badger setts are located.

Lee Moon, spokesperson for the Hunt Saboteurs Association, stated: “Today was a massive step forward in the fight to save the badgers, however it is not the end. We must make sure we keep campaigning hard throughout the winter to ensure the concept of culling badgers is forever consigned to the scrap heap of history. Our local groups, bouyed by all their new members, are eager to get out in the fields and do what they do best, directly intervene on behalf of this country's persecuted wildlife”