Stop The Badger Cull

We, the undersigned, call on the government to stop the planned cull of badgers on the following grounds:
· Over 70% of the badger population in large areas of the country will be killed, many of them healthy.

· The method of free-shooting badgers could cause severe suffering to many thousands of badgers.
· Independent scientific studies have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing bovine TB, and even suggest that it could make things worse in some areas.

We urge the government to stop the cull and implement the more sustainable and humane solution of both a vaccination programme for badgers and cattle, along with improved testing and biosecurity.

PLEASE sign it here.  It takes less than a minute.

Pretty Green

Followed Birding Sometimes' lead from yesterday evening and went owl-hunting at a spectacular Wessie H from 6:20pm.  The lone Greylag remains (ahhh!), the fields are alive with Swallows and House Martins.  'Spectacular' refers to the sky, often gun-metal grey, then the tangerine-coloured sun peers through the clouds, then a shower, and a rainbow.

A mixed gull flock left as I arrived, and 30 or so Mallard in three groups flew west overhead.

At 6:54 pm, light fading quickly, two large House Martins flew in from the east and landed on the SW shore of the larger Flash.  Of course, they were Green Sandpipers and remained when I left 20 minutes later.

And for good measure, an SEO rose from the brick house field and was quartering the area to the west of the Flash, albeit the wind was strong and often rain-laden so not ideal hunting conditions.