Going Underground: A Visual Response to the Impending Badger Cull

LONDON, May 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

20.05.2013 - 12:30pm
Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster

The Artful Badger in collaboration with Martin Usborne and Network for Animals (NFA) are staging a mobile underground 'die-in' to highlight the plight of badgers due to be massacred in England from June 1st. We invite press to join us at the culmination of our event as we bring our display to the Government's doorstep.

The event, a dramatic display of massacred beauty in symbolic locations of our capital city's 'underground' is a response to the Government's plans to shoot thousands of badgers in an attempt to tackle TB in cattle. Just like the badgers who will retreat, wounded, to their setts to die, our 'beautiful badgers' will echo their distress in our underground world.

The cull is intended to tackle the problem of bTB in two pilot areas of West Somerset and West Gloucestershire before being rolled out across the country, despite the fact that evidence from a ten-year study of badger culling concluded this method would only provide a 12-16% reduction in bTB in a best case scenario.

The pilot culls will see mainly healthy badgers lured to bait points during the night and shot with high-velocity rifles.

We call the efficacy and humaneness of this 'free shooting' method into question and wish to highlight the reality of the cull.

Christina Dixon, Campaigner at NFA, says, "Many badgers will be killed outright, but others will retreat underground to die painfully in their setts. Effective biosecurity, improved animal husbandry and cattle vaccination are the only sustainable options for tackling bTB. Anything else is just a shot in the dark."

Press notes:

Professional photographs from the underground portion of our event will be available by 2pm.

Information:

The Artful Badger is a live entertainment company providing bespoke events, using fresh and exciting experimental concepts involving dance, music and custom-created sets to entertain crowds around Europe. 
http://www.theartfulbadger.com/

Network for Animals is a non-profit organisation founded by veteran animal welfare activist Brian Davies. Via the campaign site http://www.shootinginthedark.org NFA is involved in mobilising opposition to the cull and funding badger vaccination projects.

Martin Usborne is a photographer and blogger currently working on a project entitled 'A Year to Help' in which he is trying to save as many animals as possible in one year. http://www.yeartohelp.com/