No To Badger Cull

More MP Letters Urgently Needed:

Just type in your postcode - then click 'participate' and it will send a letter to your MP-you can edit the text it you want to, less than FIVE MINUTES is all it takes.

Please help stop the slaughter of our Badgers;
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/badgers-vote

Message from the 38 Degrees team:

It’s begun. The barbaric pilot cull of thousands of badgers started on Saturday. [1] But there’s a spark of hope.

Mary Creagh MP has called a vote in parliament on Wednesday. Although not legally binding, it could be our last chance. If we cause a big enough backlash by MPs across all political parties, it might be enough to halt the cull and make sure our badgers are safe. [2]

We’ve only got 24 hours to persuade our MPs to vote to stop the cull. MPs from the Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour have all vowed to vote to stop the cull. [3] Can you email your MP now to make sure they turn up and vote to stop the cull too?
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/badgers-vote

Every day, up to 70 badgers could die because the government says it’s necessary to stop the increase of TB in cattle. But scientists say that the policy will have “unimpressive results” in reducing TB, and the evidence in support of a cull is shaky. [4]

The last thing the government wants now is for us to ramp up the attention around this vote. If we’re going to stop the cull, thousands of us have to email our MP and persuade them to vote against the cull on Wednesday.

Getting enough of a backlash is a long-shot. But we know that people power works. In the last week alone we managed to force the government to pledge ”never” to introduce a limit on the number of times we’re allowed to visit our GP. [5]

Badgers have been part of the British countryside for generations,and we want to protect them for generations to come. If we’re going to stop the cull, numbers count. The more of us that email our MP, the more chance we have of persuading the government that they should change their minds.

We’ve got 24 hours. Email your MP now:
Thanks for being involved,

Alice, Becky, Fiona and the 38 Degrees team


NOTES:
[1] Badger Culling due to begin amid protests:http://news.sky.com/story/1098036/badger-culling-due-to-begin-amid-protests
[2] Badger cull is ‘crazy, untested and risky’, Labour warns:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/10091670/Badger-cull-is-crazy-untested-and-risky-Labour-warns.html
[3] Badger cull: MPs vote 147 to 28 for abandoning cull entirely:http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/25/badger-cull-vote-government-defeat
[4] David Attenborough: Cull Could Worsen TB in Cattle:http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/14/david-attenborough-badger-cull
Channel 4 news, More than 1,000 march in London against badger cull:http://www.channel4.com/news/thousands-to-march-in-london-in-protest-against-badger-cull
[5] Read more about last weeks victory here:http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2013/05/30/nhs-victory/

The Big Garden Birdwatch

I'm looking forward to this year's annual Big Garden Birdwatch-this event, which first started in 1979 is orgainsed by the RSPB. Running for two days on 26th and 27th January, this is the world's largest wildlife event!

Basically you count the birds in your garden and record what you find-the results from a huge number of gardens across the UK help to create a snapshot of bird numbers across the country.

There are localised events and all the details are on the RSPB website.

Our bird feeders, food & water tables are replenshed every day to help out the visiting birds especially during the icy cold weather we have at present, so we're stocked up and ready to go:)

The RSPB gives three steps:

1. Watch the birds in your garden or local park for one hour on the weekend of 26 - 27 January 2013.

2. Record the highest number of each bird species you see at the same time. Don't count the total over the hour as you may get the same birds visiting more than once. Also, please only count those birds that land within your garden - not flying over.

3. Once your hour is up, tell us what you've seen. Even if you didn't get as many birds as you expected, or your 'regulars' didn't appear, do still please let us know. It's all really useful information. Our form will be open from the Birdwatch weekend until 15 February 2013 for you to tell us what you've seen.

4. Yes, we know we said three easy steps. But you'll like this step as we just want to say 'congratulations - you've done the Birdwatch!' Along with hundreds of thousands of other wildlife lovers, you've taken a step for nature and helped us find out more about our garden birds. Thank you.