The West Northants Green Party stands against hunting and badger culling. This is in keeping with the policies of the Green Party of England and Wales.
We believe that attempts to reform hunting in recent decades have been unsuccessful. We believe that an unacceptable number of wild animals are still subjected to unnecessary and unjustified cruelty as a result of hunting today and that a complete ban is the only logical way to eliminate such cruelty. We believe that hunting animals as a recreational pursuit is unethical.
We believe that there isn’t sufficient evidence for badger culling to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis and that wild animals and their habitats should be safeguarded. This is especially important for badgers, which are protected under British law due to the high levels of cruelty and mistreatment that they face. We support vaccination programmes and improved testing as better solutions.
We do not believe that these positions are incompatible with our support for farmers and farming. Farmers have a vital role to play as custodians of our countryside and often have a deep and sensitive understanding of the natural environment. We accept that there is sometimes tension between the needs of humans and the needs of nature but we will always seek to find and to advocate for humane and regenerative solutions to such challenges.
We are grateful to the Northamptonshire Badger Group for their tireless efforts in protecting vulnerable animals and their habitats and we look forward to working closely with them in the future.