Team Badger in talks
Campaigners from Team Badger are set to meet on Saturday, April 22 to speak against the badger cull plans.
Among those speaking at the event, which will be held at Somerset's Taunton Conference Centre, will be rockstar and RSPCA vice-president Brian May.
Other speakers include Gavin Grant, RSPCA chief executive, Joe Duckworth, chief executive of League Against Cruel Sports and Steve Jones, a retired dairy farmer who led the "Not in this farm's name" campaign.
The meeting is planned to mobilise support in opposition of the impending pilot badger cull, due to begin in Gloucestershire and Somerset within eight weeks.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has organised the cull in an effort to help eradicate the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB).
However, opposition surrounds both scientific and welfare reasons, according to the RSCPA.
While the charity says it sympathises with farmers who are dealing with the devastating disease, it believes a cull will do little to help eradicate bTB in cattle – and could even make it worse.
RSPCA is therefore willing to work with the farming community to "deliver more effective alternatives".
"We urge anyone who wants to help save the badger and help cattle to join us at this meeting," said Mr Grant.
"As plans stand, thousands of badgers will die – virtually eliminating them from large areas of the countryside. Yet the problems of bTB will not be solved."
RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.
