Veggies Backs the Badgers!
info@veggies.org.uk (Tally) | 03.03.2014 10:55
Nottingham's ethical, all-vegan catering campaign Veggies has been on the road twice to Birmingham in the past few days, to show support for our scapegoated badger friends who are under attack from the Tory government. The government are trying to implement an appallingly misguided and underhand policy to cull one hundred thousand badgers in an effort to eradicate Bovine TB. As well as killing an innocent, and much loved member of British wildlife, the policy also flies in the face of the best scientific advice and public opinion, both of which are overwhelmingly in opposition to a cull.
So on Saturday 22nd the Veggies team took their well-known colourful trailer and set up in Victoria Square to cater for several hundred people that were rallying there throughout the day to vocalise their dissent. Badger campaigners were very happy to see Veggies and throughout the day's events the team shifted some 200 burgers, 100 samosas, lots of cakes and pasties and were able to give a donation of £120 towards the organisational costs of the event.
The march was very well covered by various media, with both ITV and BBC reporting that over 1,000 people took to the streets to voice their peaceful objection to the misguided badger cull, as well as detailed coverage from the local Birmingham Mail.
A Veggies volunteer joined the march carrying a tray full of their 'Samosas for Social Change', a sight that has been seen many times over the years on grassroots marches and demos (Veggies celebrates their 30th anniversary later this year!)
It was a motivating day full of compassionate badger campaigners from all walks of life and different organisations. Speeches were given by members of Care for the Wild, League Against Cruel Sports and the Hunt Sabs Association, amongst others.
Then (because the Veggies crew love badgers so much!) they headed back out to Birmingham this Tuesday 25th just passed for the second anti-cull demo. This was outside the ICC where the national NFU (National Farmers' Union) conference was taking place. The NFU is a collection of individuals and companies responsible for undertaking the failed badger culls and planning to undertake more, as well as lobbying for less humane ways to kill badgers such as gassing and snaring.
This time Veggies had a more informal set-up, giving out hot drinks, pasties and cakes by donation. As ever, cold people were very happy to see the team and a great day was had networking with other groups and joining in the chanting going on outside the venue ("Shame on you, NFU" has quite a good ring to it!)
Today (Friday 28th Feb) the findings are back from the Independent Expert Panel appointed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help ministers evaluate the effectiveness, humaneness and safety of the Gloucestershire and Somerset pilot culls. The culls were categorically a failure in both effectiveness and humaneness.
For more information on the badger cull issue please see the 'Stop the Cull' website: http://badger-killers.co.uk/
Read about Viva's Dump Dairy' campaign: http://www.viva.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/badgers
And of course, see what other campaigning adventures Veggies is going on this year over on their website: www.veggies.org.uk
info@veggies.org.uk (Tally)
http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/7261
Comments
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Yes, your little "friends" the badgers are similar to humans in many ways
04.03.2014 12:34
"The diet of the Eurasian badger consists largely of earthworms, insects, grubs, and the eggs and young of ground-nesting birds. They also eat small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds, as well as roots and fruit.[17] In Britain, they are the only predator of hedgehogs, which have demonstrably[18] lower populations in areas where badgers are numerous, so that hedgehog rescue societies will not release hedgehogs into known badger territories.[19] In some areas they are known to predate lambs, and may bite a ewe defending her lamb, almost always leading to infection of the bite. They are occasional predators of domestic chickens,[20] and are able to break into enclosures that a fox cannot. In southern Spain, badgers feed to a significant degree on rabbits.[21] The honey badger of Africa consumes honey, porcupines and even venomous snakes (such as the puff adder); they will climb trees to gain access to honey from bees' nests. American badgers are fossorial carnivores – i.e. they catch a significant proportion of their food underground, by digging. They can tunnel after ground-dwelling rodents at speed.
Badgers have been known to become intoxicated with alcohol after eating rotting fruit.[22]"
Opportunistic Omnivore
THIS, however, unfair, untrue, misleading
04.03.2014 13:21
Both the "animal welfare" (individual living beings) fight and the "environmental" (focus on ecosystems rather than individuals) fight are orthogonal to the economic class struggle fight. Sorry, but collectively the "left" has no more real interest in the environment than the "right" and individuals from both sides of that fight can be found in this one.
OK, it is true that there are those on the "left" who have this bizarre quasi religious faith that ALL problems are artifacts of capitalism and that these problems would vanish like magic if only we replaced capitalism. In a capitalist society, of course everything that is happening will be happening for a capitalist reason --- that doesn't mean in a non-capitalist society those things won't happen, just will be happening for some socialist reason, feudal reason, etc. --- you have insufficient historical background or are wearing selective blinders if you fail to notice that MOST (not all*) lines of socialism form the 19th Century had a vision "conquest of Nature for the benefit of all, not just the capitalist class" and that's hardly environmental or showing concern for other than human lives.
* But these lines, however of historical interest, did NOT develop into the "scientific" socialism dominating the surviving left movements.
MDN
Read
04.03.2014 18:08
Bottom Bracket
@ Bottom Bracket
04.03.2014 20:02
Bless !
Down town
vaccinations, less & healthier livestock,nuetersol nuetering
05.03.2014 13:30
Vaccinationa are mooted as is nueter sol as pioneered by vets &american humane fsociety on dogs,proven to work& easier than a surgical snip+ cheaper. With vaccination& nuetering thou the issue istrapping them humanelyy & then possibly for a day keeping them happy untl a vaccination& nuetersol can be administed.Nuetersol is possibly best all around as badgers do seem related to the wolverine ,.
According to radio4 analysis caging is more expensive than shooting,,,so darting to catch the m is likely best unless someone knows of better ways, lassoing collared a injured badger is one thing.
Less livestock farming in healthier conditions would help too& anything that encourages this nicely as though we bemoan it, uk farming is in many ways more ethical than most countries.
Green Syndicalist