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I sat with a growing sense of dismay in the public gallery to watch and listen to the full Opposition debate on the badger cull and was disappointed to see how few MPs actually attended.  However, when it came to the vote, although the motion was defeated by 299 to 250, I have to say I was encouraged.  Voting against your Party when there is a three-line whip could be regarded by some as jeopardising your job prospects and certainly your ability to advance in the political world is brave indeed.  Under that kind of pressure, for there to be I believe, more than half a dozen Conservatives and Liberal Democrats who voted with the opposition and for the government majority to be as narrow as 50 votes, spoke volumes.

So, now what.

I wonder just how far the government is prepared to go to persevere with a policy that clearly has little public support, lacks scientific credibility and can only secure such a veneer of political backing in the House.

As Virginia said in her speech “Clearly, the Secretary of State believes that he has no option.  I say to him that he does and I say to him that he will earn the deserved respect and appreciation of the vast majority of the British public if he is courageous enough to abandon his stated policy and to work with us – with all of us – to end the scourge of Bovine TB and to save the badger.”

To restate what I think is the obvious: We can either embark upon a badger culling process that will see tens of thousands of badgers killed resulting, at best, in a 16% reduction in Bovine TB after ten years or we can admit that we should have done things sooner, that we  must invest in both a badger vaccination programme and support the volunteers who are willing to implement it, address the European Union issues relating to Bovine TB including the DIVA test which would differentiate between cattle that have been vaccinated and cattle that have not and end up with a country that is safe for dairy farmers, safe for their cattle and safe for badgers.

Born Free is proud to be a Member of Team Badger!

I am just out of the House of Commons and the Opposition debate against the badger cull. The following three Tweets sum it up (I’ll write more extensively tomorrow):

A) Opposition debate: motion to call off cull defeated by 299 (Gov) to 250 (opposition) in heavily ‘whipped’ debate!

B) Badger debate very emotional but largely ignores best scientific brains which describe cull as ‘crazy’ & ‘mindless’!

C) Badger debate. Many conclude we now have ‘policy-based evidence’ not ‘evidence-based policy’. Thanks for all support!

Peaceful efforts to try and stop the pilot culls going ahead will continue and Born Free, part of Team Badger, will do what it can.

It is not over

Blogging off!

Will

PS you an follow me on Twitter at @willtravers

I was part of the Stop the Badger Cull March on Saturday.  Seven thousand of us and more met outside the Tate and marched 10 abreast, down Embankment and around Westminster Abbey. Born Free was proud to stand beside our friend Brian May and be part of Team Badger.  I watched as Brian and my mother Virginia McKenna as they knocked on the door of Downing Street to make our feelings clear.

Despite the huge numbers it was a well-behaved and peaceful march, united in the depth of our feelings. It was the ‘Best of British’ – caring and compassionate.  The badger cull is ill-conceived and totally unnecessary.  As Virginia explained, Born Free cares about every individual animal and fights to stop cruelty and exploitation.

“How else can we express our feelings – of outrage and dismay – about some of the decisions taken by our leaders, than by gathering together, walking, and communicating our views in a peaceful way?  We are peaceful because ours is the voice of reason and compassion, and does not need to be raised.

I have always believed that we live in England’s green and pleasant land.  I have always believed we are a nation of animal lovers for all the right reasons and that we believe in compassion not cruelty, in sanctuary not suffering, in welfare not abuse.

And although I know there are many things we could and should do better, I have always believed that when it comes to animals we were making progress –  until now.

If the humanity of society can be measured by the compassion it shows to non-human creatures then, should the cull go ahead, history will judge us to have taken a terrible and unnecessary step backwards.

I do not need to repeat for you the scientific evidence against the cull.  It is overwhelming.  I do not need to rehearse for you the Parliamentary debates on this issue – they have been massively against the cull.  I can only echo the public outcry on this issue – it is well-documented.

I totally understand that the Government wishes to end the seemingly endless and cruel impact of Bovine Tuberculosis on cattle and on the farming community.  I want to believe that the only reason they wish to take action is because they want to alleviate both human and animal suffering, not because it is going to save money.

But in my mind, seeking to alleviate the suffering of farm animals and the farming community by inflicting suffering on and eradicating thousands of badgers makes no sense and is morally indefensible.   And it is not as if we don’t have a choice – we do!

There are many experts on this subject who can speak at length about the raft of measures that can and must be taken to reduce the impact and prevalence of Bovine TB in dairy herds; restricting the movement of cattle; improving bio-security; enhancing on-farm hygiene, and more.  But to elect to cull badgers by the thousand, knowing that the likely best outcome after 10 years is perhaps a 16% reduction in the presence of Bovine Tb, is not only scientific, political and ethical madness, it is surrendering our cattle herds to Bovine Tb in perpetuity.

The real decision, the brave decision, the robust decision, the logical decision and the right decision, is to immediately invest whatever it takes to bring into being a cattle vaccination programme to ensure that in ten years’ time cattle no longer fall victim to Bovine Tb whether it comes from badgers, or deer or from spoor in the ground or anywhere else. Our herds will be safe because our herds will be immune and, most importantly we will not unnecessarily, callously and unjustifiably put to death hundreds and thousands of badgers, needlessly, in the process.

Clearly, the Secretary of State believes that he has no option.  I say to him that he does. I say to him that he will earn the deserved respect and appreciation of the vast majority of the British public if he is courageous enough to abandon his stated policy and to work with us – with all of us – to end the scourge of Bovine TV and to save the badger.”

This Wednesday (5th June) is opposition day at Parliament, and the badger cull is on the agenda. This is our opportunity to make a difference. Please contact your local MPs and urge them to act against this unwarranted and unjustified piece of legislation.

As an era comes to an end in England at a time when the government has committed itself to make the exploitation of wild animals in circuses a thing of the past and, in memory of Anne, the last performing elephant in a British circus, the Sunday Mirror has agreed that funds raised in her name will be deployed by Born Free to establish the elephant team – L’Équipe des Éléphants – a new anti-poaching unit that will bring vitally needed additional security to the country’s elephants.

© Mike Dooley

Few places in Africa are now safe from the bloody ivory poaching epidemic that is sweeping the Continent fuelled by unrestrained demand in China and the Far East (www.bloodyivory.org). But while the world’s attention has been focussed on the slaughter of elephants in Tanzania, in Chad and, most recently in Dzanda Sangha in the Central African Republic, West Africa’s largest remaining elephant population is also under threat.

Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries on the planet, is home to about 5,000 elephants. It is the last remaining stronghold for the species in an area the size of western Europe. The authorities are dedicated to trying to prevent widespread elephant poaching in its national parks but they need help and they have turned to Born Free and the Sunday Mirror for that help.

As an era comes to an end in England at a time when the government has committed itself to make the exploitation of wild animals in circuses a thing of the past and, in memory of Anne, the last performing elephant in a British circus, the Sunday Mirror has agreed that funds raised in her name will be deployed by Born Free to establish the elephant team – L’Équipe des Éléphants – a new anti-poaching unit that will bring vitally needed additional security to the country’s elephants.

This action follows hard on the heels of an International Wildlife Crime Summit at St James’s Palace hosted by HRH Prince Charles and HRH Prince William, together with the British government, last Tuesday, when conservationists, non-government organisations and wildlife experts agreed that without new and resolute action, many of the world’s most iconic species, including Africa’s magnificent elephants, face a bleak future.

Here, just a few days later, is our response. A new force for conservation, a new force for elephants, an investment in the survival of the species led by Born Free, the Sunday Mirror and the brave men and women who make up L’Équipe des Éléphants, the elephant team in Burkino Faso. I hope that this will herald a new dawn for the world’s beleaguered wildlife species. For far too long organised wildlife crime syndicates and poaching gangs have had their brutal way.

Enough is enough. The fight-back starts now.

It is our intention for L’Équipe des Éléphants to be operational for at least a year, but we cannot do it without your help. To donate and contribute to the running of this anti-poaching unit, visit www.bloodyivory.org

***Update*** Read Will’s report on the meeting here

Dear Friends of Wildlife

Big Question 1:

What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? The irresistible force of millions of people who are deeply concerned about the future of wildlife and the impact of poaching and illegal trade including HRH Prince of Wales, HRH Duke of Cambridge, our UK Government Ministers, the Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, current Secretary of State John Kerry, Virginia McKenna, Brian May, Nicky Campbell, Zac Goldsmith, Born Free supporters (and me!), meets the immovable object of demand for ivory, rhino horn, lion and tiger body parts, bear gall bladders, shark fins …….

The answer is can we prove that the object is no longer immovable; we can persuade the Chinese Polit Bureau to demonstrate global leadership and set aside tradition in favour of conservation; we can work with governments in Africa and the rangers, wardens and forest guards to deliver on-the-ground protection wherever it is needed; we can train and support customs officers to effectively intercept wildlife crime (along with drugs and guns and people and more); we can support the judiciary in the application of deterrent sentences to make sure that crime doesn’t pay; we can educate consumers so that they understand that elephant teeth do not just ‘fall out’; that rhino are dying in their hundreds for bogus cancer cures; that tigers face extinction so the wealthy can ‘show off’ and buy tiger bone wine; that wild lion numbers have halved in 30 years and exports of lion skeletons from South Africa to Lao PDR are up 10,000% since 2009; that thousands of bears endure a lifetime of deranged suffering so that some people can drink their putrid bile; that one hundred million sharks a year die for soup.

Tomorrow (21st May 2013) Prince Charles, Prince William, UK Government Ministers, including Owen Paterson and Richard Benyon, will set aside a day to put illegal wildlife crime at the top of the political agenda so that it becomes an irresistible force for good.

I will be there with Virginia and I will report back.  Is it a tipping point?  I hope so. If it isn’t it may be too late for some.

Blogging off

Will

PS Ooops! Nearly forgot Big Question 2. I am down to appear on The Big Questions next Sunday (2nd June) at 10.oo am on BBC1 talking about the plight of wild animals.  Tune in or set the recorder if you get a chance.

News reports out of South Africa with respect to the rhino crisis are alarming, with more than 290 animals already poached so far in 2013 – annualized that will be over 800 by year end – and even dehorned rhinos are being slaughtered.

As CEO of the Born Free Foundation I attended the recent CITES Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. In front of more than 100 people I personally asked the South African Minister responsible for wildlife, the President of the Private Rhino Owners Association, the President of the Professional Hunters Association, an eminent South African economist and the South African Ambassador to Thailand, all of whom were there promoting the idea of legalising rhino horn trade, to raise their hands if they believed that rhino horn was effective in medicinal use. Not one of them moved a muscle.

Yet they would be willing to sell rhino horn to folks in the Far East, knowing full-well it doesn’t work, exploiting the ignorance of people who mistakenly believe it will cure their mother/father/sister/brother of cancer.

Unethical? Unacceptable? Downright disgraceful? Too right!

In my view, legalising rhino horn trade will legitimise the use of a substance which absolutely does not work, make a handful of private rhino owners very rich, provide a legal cover for illegal trade, further jeopardise the security of all Africa’s rhino, and allow the poachers, and the organised criminal gangs who back them, to – quite literally – carry on making a killing.

What do you think?

Blogging off!

Will

The ‘P’ word – what does it mean?

Pinioning involves cutting a bird’s wing at the carpal joint, permanently removing the part of the wing from which the primary feathers grow. It is a surgical procedure, classed as a “mutilation” under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 in England and Wales and the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 in Scotland. A bird that has had its wing pinioned can never fly nor be released back to the wild as the amputated part – equivalent to a human “hand” – will not grow back. Whilst this sounds like a practice from a forgotten era that should have been consigned to the history books long ago, it is in fact still legal in zoos and being practised by many captive facilities in Britain today.

The Born Free Foundation’s colleagues at The Captive Animals’ Protection Society (CAPS) recently published the results of an investigation into the pinioning of birds in British zoos, with a particular focus on the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust centres [http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/395283/Zoos-chop-birds-wings-in-half-to-keep-them-captive]. Over the years, Born Free has heard many justifications from zoos in defence of pinioning: it’s necessary to improve the welfare of the birds as it allows them to have access to larger, roofless enclosures; aviaries are much more costly to build than open air enclosures, and pinioning can be carried out at little to no expense to the zoo; pinioning allows the public to get close to birds; pinioning can be justified in the name of conservation, making sure rarer, breeding birds don’t fly away and get separated; and so on. These so-called justifications are, at best, flimsy and none outweigh the impact of this invasive surgery on the individual animals.

What is apparent is a worrying lack of transparency between zoos and their visitors. According to CAPS, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust currently has 5,663 “resident” (captive) birds, all of which have been pinioned, yet until the CAPS investigation was launched, there was little or no information on their website about this practice. We are convinced that members of the public should, at the very least, be provided with open and accurate information regarding pinioning and similar invasive measures taken by zoos (such as de-barbing rays in aquaria) so they can decide for themselves whether they still wish to visit.

Virginia McKenna OBE, founder of the Born Free Foundation, recently commented: “Why does a bird have wings”? It is scandalous that zoos appear to consider mutilation an acceptable “tool” in the name of conservation and education. The message is, at best, confusing. Seeing birds walk around or swim in a pond may look delightful – and is better than seeing them in a cage – but they have paid a huge price to live this half-life. And we are being misled, to put it politely.”

Countries such as Estonia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, have all outlawed pinioning, and yet it is still a perfectly legal practice in zoos in this country. Born Free is proud to support the “Fight for Flight”, and commends CAPS for bringing this important issue into the public arena. We need to ask ourselves what is more important: the few seconds spent admiring individual, mutilated captive geese or ducks, or the bird’s ability to use its most definitive adaptation – its wings – and fly?

He was there when one of the biggest wildlife stories of the 20th century broke – and he was part of that extraordinary narrative. Desmond Hamill, the award-winning ITN reporter, died on the 9th of April 2013. Apart from courageously covering numerous wars, civil unrests, high profile national issues – not be mention being kidnapped with his film crew in Beirut – Hamill reported on the mass slaughter of Africa’s elephants and the extent of the illegal ivory trade, leading to the international ivory trade ban in 1989.

The Born Free Foundation (then Zoo Check), together with the EIA (the Environmental Investigation Agency) were at the forefront of the campaign (the EIA’s damning footage and our 600,000 name petition proving critically important) that secured the ban and brought at least temporary respite to Africa’s beleaguered elephants.

Although elephants and the bloody ivory trade are still making headlines (www.bloodyivory.org) we want to salute Desmond for making this cause a part of his life’s work and making sure we never forget.

Will

I’ve some wonderful news to share and wanted personally to tell you without delay.

My mother and Founder of the Born Free Foundation, Virginia McKenna OBE, has just been awarded the prestigious ‘Outstanding Contribution Honour’, at ITV’s inaugural British Animal Honours 2013. Broadcast earlier this evening, the dazzling awards ceremony was hosted by Paul O’Grady and celebrated the country’s most extraordinary animals and the amazing people who dedicate their lives to them. I hope you managed to see it, but if not you can see a video and read a transcript of Virginia’s speech here.

Here at the Born Free Foundation we’re deeply moved and very proud that Virginia’s tireless work for wildlife has been so publicly recognised – the tributes from Martin Clunes, Jenny Seagrove, Helen Worth, Brian May and Anita Dobson are still ringing in my ears.

The awards ceremony included a fascinating insight into her life as a wildlife crusader and, of course, as a much-loved actress.  Virginia, who was voted one of the most inspirational people of all time in a Daily Telegraph poll, starred in some of our best-loved films, including Carve Her Name With Pride, A Town Like Alice, Ring of Bright Water and of course, the phenomenally successful Born Free – a film which changed her life and that of my late father Bill with whom she co-starred.

But despite an exceptional career in cinema and theatre, Virginia pushed aside the glamour of movie stardom and the West End stage to focus on her personal mission with the Born Free Foundation, the wildlife charity she helped found back in 1984 and on whose behalf has worked unstintingly ever since.

Seeing her recognised in this way – by her peers and by the public at large – has given me fresh inspiration and I know you too share her passion for lions, elephants, tigers, gorillas, bears, dolphins, wolves and thousands of wild animals that rely on us for their safety and survival.

It’s great to count on you as part of the Born Free family and so, as a mark of respect for Virginia’s work, I have a personal request to make. I wonder if you would click on the buttons below and take further action to save lives, stop suffering, rescue individuals and protect species.

Virginia has just launched a major appeal to raise funds to protect Africa’s lions from exploitation and we urgently need your help and support.

And finally, you can keep up to date with our work to help animals through our social media.  Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up to our free monthly e-newsletter BF-Mail.  Get connected to the wild today!

Together, thanks to Virginia, we are a voice for the animals and a force for good.

When I received the news of the death of Anna Merz I was knocked sideways.  This wonderful lady, who was the ultimate champion of rhinos, just couldn’t be gone.  I have a recent letter from her on my desk awaiting my reply.  Now there won’t be one.  Only this tribute from a like-minded old person – one who shares her deep respect for living creatures and the natural world, and who also sometimes finds the way humans treat them callous, intolerable and mystifying.

In 1982 Anna created the Lewa Downs Rhino Sanctuary (now the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy).  Her vision, determination and compassion made her one of the pioneers of wildlife conservation in the wild.  A role model for us all.

I had the great joy of visiting her and her rhino sanctuary in the 1980s. I will always remember it, and her, and thank her for her loyalty and devotion to the animals she was determined to save, and for being such an inspiration to all of us who share her passion.

Virginia

Virginia McKenna
Founder Trustee
Born Free Foundation