I was asked if I felt any pride for participating in some of the walks and the answer is no. I felt honoured to have met the people that had dedicated so much of their time to such a worthwhile and important cause and very tearful when the decision to stop slaughtering badgers was announced but as with everyone involved, I am a very small cog in a larger beast that has potential, thanks to the Government.
This year has been difficult for me and it is because of something that will appear to be small to most people, our cat died. He was barely 5 but was different, he was a major part of the family and was all things to all of us. If ever an animal was a part of a family it was this one and I mean a major part. We are 6 months later and I still tear up just writing about him, my wife can't talk about him, it was like losing a child and I really don't mean to sound so pathetic but it simply knocked us all for six. However, what he did do was connect me to my "humanity", something that I am sure we lose as we go along, maybe it is getting older or simply conditioning within society or an overload of pain every time we turn on the television.
The badger cull coming so shortly after his death became my focus and it became very personal. I checked all the facts on both sides and realised that there were only facts on one side, the other side was simply shouting meaningless numbers taken out of context. I guess we have all realised that if you shout loud enough people will hear only your voice, you will drown out all dissidence but no-one likes a bully, particularly in the UK. Owen Paterson and David Cameron are simply out of touch bullies, men that shout louder than anyone else.
"The Republic of Ireland, where badgers are now culled, has seen TB infection levels fall by more than 45 per cent since 2000. They are slaughtering close to half the cattle they needed to 10 years ago. "
Owen Paterson 2013
http://www.conservativepartyconference.org.uk/Speeches/2013_Owen_Paterson.aspx
Just so you can see exactly how distorted the stories are, Northern Ireland hasn't culled a single badger and the instances of bTB have fallen significantly more than the Republic of Ireland, purely through increased cattle control measures. The Republic of Ireland also introduced cattle control measures at the same time as culling badgers, but not as stringent as Northern Ireland. Simple facts but if you shout loud enough about Southern Ireland, people won't question the figures in Northern Ireland.
They have also, very stupidly, re-opened the fox hunting debate at the same time as the badger cull. The fools have instantly united activists, various animal rights groups and charities, along with normal average people like myself, people that pay their taxes and abide by the law, all now have a common cause, a common union. The Conservatives have managed to provide all these people with a common enemy. These are words from someone that has always voted Conservative and believed in the good of the Country but this crop of Conservatives are the antithesis of everything I stand for, their views and the way they conduct themselves is abhorrent to me, they are an offence.
Cameron is trying to get out of all his "green" promises at a time when the common people want green promises to be upheld. We want a future for our children.
Paterson and Cameron had an opportunity to back out of the badger cull with a modicum of dignity, perhaps citing people power or science as the reason. They didn't and now they have to spin an unmitigated disaster into a "victory". The Sabs, various fringe political groups and "average Joe's" are calling this a victory for people power.
All of these groups have grown exponentially and they are struggling to work out how to maintain the growth and how to bring these new followers further into the fold. Given HS2, fracking, the fur trade and hunting, it won't be too difficult to mobilise the new activists, they are just waiting to give the Tories a bloody nose. I just hope that they can keep the new found support in place, the only way they can achieve anything is by remaining united as they are over the badger cull, they simply need to be more organised and to prioritise their agendas to collaborate more.
I joined the Badger Trust because of this cull and I have just signed up to Greenpeace and all of this is thanks to David Cameron and Owen Paterson...
...and our cat.
