News release: May 14, 2007
6,000 badger snares every night are not stopping
TB in Ireland, Irish and British
conservationists advise Strictly embargoed: 00.01 Monday 14 May 2007 |
A major report, published today by Badgerwatch Ireland and the UK's Badger Trust, calls on consumers to boycott Irish dairy and beef products and to boycott Ireland as a holiday destination.
The fully-referenced report reveals that the
virtual extermination of badgers in the Republic of Ireland, with up to 6,000
snares set every night, has failed to control bovine TB. Instead, levels
are twice as high as in Great Britain, where badgers are not being culled.
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The report reveals
that:
Trevor Lawson, report author and Badger Trust public
affairs advisor, commented: "The official persecution of badgers in the
Republic of Ireland is an international disgrace and must surely breach the
Berne Convention, which protects badgers in Europe.
"The grotesque extent of this extermination proves that
killing badgers does not control or eradicate bovine TB in cattle.
Badgers are a scapegoat for bad farming practices and an inadequate bovine TB
testing regime. Our findings make a mockery of the demands for badger culling
made in Britain by the National Farmers Union and other organisations."
Bernie Barratt, from Badgerwatch Ireland, commented: "I am
currently looking after two badger cubs whose mother has almost certainly been
snared or shot. Many other cubs have starved to death because the Government
insists on killing badgers when mothers have cubs below ground. The
extermination of badgers in Ireland is now so extensive, that I have no idea
whether it will ever be safe to release these cubs into the wild.
"I am very proud of Ireland's many achievements, but this senseless slaughter is a horrible stain on my country's character. We have no choice but to bring this to the attention of international consumers, since our politicians lack the moral courage to protect our native wildlife." Ends - download report as a pdf
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