Goalposts moved again as Owen Paterson substituted from badger battleground
Wildlife and conservation groups opposed to the badger cull have reacted with relief at the announcement that David Cameron has sacked Owen Paterson as Environment Secretary.
Wildlife and conservation groups opposed to the badger cull have reacted with relief at the announcement that David Cameron has sacked Owen Paterson as Environment Secretary.
The Government’s central defender of the disastrous badger culling policy, Owen Paterson is viewed by many as having overseen a disastrous term when it comes to wildlife protection in the UK. Under his brief tenure as Secretary of State, DEFRA has culled, or looked into culling, not only badgers, but also other species including buzzards, cormorants, grey squirrels and seagulls.
Dominic Dyer, of the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild said:
“It’s no laughing matter that since Owen Paterson has been in charge, many people now refer to Defra as Deathra, because his tenure has been a catastrophe for our wildlife. Apparently it seems that the man who claimed that badgers had moved the goalposts has scored one too many own goals and has been hauled off the pitch.
“Owen Paterson has strong links to the Countryside Alliance and landowning and hunting interests, and he stubbornly threw himself behind the badger culling policy in the face of overwhelming, expert scientific opinion that said that a cull would make no meaningful contribution to reducing bTB. So now his lasting legacy will be the badger cull which has been an utter failure on scientific, economic and humaneness grounds.
“Mr Paterson’s leadership has caused lasting damage to the reputation of DEFRA, Natural England and the farming industry, and the new DEFRA Secretary of State cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of their predecessor. They must start by bringing an immediate halt to the disastrous badger cull and reaching out to wildlife protection and conservation groups to restore confidence in the reputation of DEFRA for protecting – not destroying – wildlife.
“And it’s time for David Cameron to recognise that the compassionate British people care deeply about wildlife and will stand up to protect it. He would be wise to listen to their concerns or risk paying a heavy price at the next election.”
In addition and also responding to Owen Paterson’s sacking as Environment Secretary, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said:
“David Cameron is right to give Owen Paterson the boot – he’s the worst Environment Secretary the UK has had for decades.
“Mr Paterson has wilfully ignored scientific evidence on climate change, championed pesticide firms instead of bees and massively underinvested in flood defences, leaving thousands of households at risk of future flooding.
“His successor must show they are serious about safeguarding Britain’s environment and protecting the nation from the growing threat of global climate change.”
