Mike Hancock News
Cull Back on the Agenda - Hancock Badgers Minister to Reverse Cruel Proposals
Cull back on the Agenda:
Hancock Badgers Minister to Reverse Cruel Proposals
Mike Hancock (MP for Portsmouth South) today joined forces with the League Against Cruel Sports to condemn the recently announced proposals for a badger cull in England.
In a recent letter to the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food, who has responsibility for this area, Mike wrote, 'I am completely against this decision and believe this is a huge mistake, and not a path the Coalition Government should be walking down. Massive questions are raised by your department's decision to end 5 of the 6 scientific trials last year, and seem completely contradict your previous statement that these proposals are in anyway based on science.'
The proposals come on the back of revelations that only 14% of the public support a cull, while a massive 67% support a vaccination scheme which will ensure the animals' welfare upheld. Mike said, "All the evidence so far has shown that culling doesn't work. This is the worst possible outcome for animal welfare, and to take such extreme measures on the back of dodgy and selective science is completely unacceptable.
Culling during the Randomised Badger Culling Trial had devastating effects on badger populations - reducing them by 75%. Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated in her statement to the Commons last week that there was no danger of wiping out badgers. But the scientific trials already carried out have proved this to be a real possibility.
Share this page:
