A vital read for anyone who cares about the future of British wildlife. With a foreword by the BBC TV presenter Chris Packham.

'A thriller, whodunnit and impassioned polemic.' - PATRICK BARKHAM, THE GUARDIAN

Dominic Dyer explores the science and electioneering behind Britain's most controversial wildlife policy: the badger cull.

He exposes the catastrophic handling of bovine TB by the British government, the political manoeuvring that engineered the badger cull in 2010, and the ongoing close relationship in perpetuating the cull between the National Farmers Union and the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

He shines an unflattering spotlight on Cabinet ministers, the veterinary profession, environmental NGOs and the BBC.

Reviews

'I enjoyed reading this book and I strongly recommend it to you.

'This is a powerful and stimulating read and it's bang up to date with the important issue it discusses. It is written by a passionate insider with years of experience. The narrative is pacey and exciting. This book arrived with me on Thursday afternoon and I had read it completely by early yesterday [Saturday] morning.'

- MARK AVERY, WRITER, BLOGGER AND ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNER

'A vital must-read for anyone concerned about the badger's enduring place in the British countryside.

'A thriller, whodunnit and impassioned polemic, this is the inside story of the badger cull.'

- PATRICK BARKHAM, THE GUARDIAN

'It should be read by all those battling against government policies that put money ahead of science and the environment.

'The book's conclusion is that the culls will be stopped, not by science or validity, but by cost. Yet Dyer remains optimistic: 'Despite all the incompetence, negligence and deceit, it's the caring compassionate British public who have made a stand for wildlife that gives me the most hope for the future.'

'His book pays tribute to the 'Badger Army', those many individuals from all walks of life who turned out to protest and importantly, once culling started, to protect the badgers out in the field.

'Those people will be patrolling the countryside, day and night, in every area where badger killing is taking place this autumn. While determined to protect their badgers, many also want to see the government help and support farmers to beat the TB in their cattle - but with proper cattle-based measures, not by senselessly killing wildlife.'

- LESLEY DOCKSEY, THE ECOLOGIST, 'Why are our badgers 'Badgered to Death'?'

Introduction by Chris Packham

How viciously fickle we are. We arbitrarily pick and choose which species we like or dislike, normally and sadly based on purely anthropomorphic criteria, and then either laud or loathe them paying scant attention to the realities of their lives, or ours. And once cursed and demonised that tag is almost impossible to redress. Think rat, think fox... damned for historical crimes, firmly fixed as malevolent vermin, even in our supposedly enlightened age. But as this book displays we can also be quick to destroy the reputation of our animal heroes and blight their status with bigotry and ignorance.

For many reasons we had come to love the badger, to cherish and admire it, to protect and celebrate it and of course many still do. But the reputation of this essential member of the UK's ecology has been targeted by a smear campaign which has been swallowed by the gullible and fuelled by those with vested interests. You see, in spite of all the science and all the truths that it outlines, the badger has become a scapegoat. Its been branded a 'bad guy' and is being persecuted as such. It's a terrible shame, but like I said, how fickle, how vicious, how predictably human.

Buy the book and carry on reading Chris Packham's introduction

Planned programme of national press stories and reviews and TV appearances.

About the Author

Dominic Dyer is a wildlife protection campaigner, writer and broadcaster.

He left school at 16 and joined the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food as a civil servant. Over the next 13 years in Whitehall and Brussels he worked on issues ranging from marine environment protection to organic agriculture. In 2000, he left the public sector for the Food and Drink Federation, where he became an expert on the environment and healthy eating trends. In 2008, he was appointed chief executive of the Crop Protection Association, the trade body for the UK plant science industry.

In 2012, he abandoned his career as an industry lobbyist and became a full-time wildlife protection campaigner with Care for the Wild.

Today, he is policy advisor for the Born Free Foundation and chief executive of the Badger Trust.

Chris Packham is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author. He is best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series, the Really Wild Show from 1986 to 1995. He has presented the BBC nature series Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch since 2009.

He is vice-president of the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Brent Lodge Bird & Wildlife Trust.

He has been a consistent opponent of the badger cull in England, describing it as "sickening, expensive, cruel and divisive." A dead badger was hung on the front gate of his home in the New Forest because of his views on the cull.

Reviews

'A thriller, whodunnit and impassioned polemic, this is the inside story of the badger cull. A vital must-read for anyone concerned about the badger's enduring place in the British countryside.'

- PATRICK BARKHAM, THE GUARDIAN

'Badgered to Death is a real page turner... the book contains illuminating chapters on the BBC's pro-badger cull bias, illegal badger persecution by some farmers and the compromised, incoherent support for the cull by the British Veterinary Association.'

- DR DAN LYONS, CENTRE FOR ANIMALS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE, 'How badgers came to be persecuted - but why'

'I enjoyed reading this book and I strongly recommend it to you. This is a powerful and stimulating read and it's bang up to date with the important issue it discusses. It is written by a passionate insider with years of experience. The narrative is pacey and exciting. This book arrived with me on Thursday afternoon and I had read it completely by early yesterday [Saturday] morning.'

- MARK AVERY, WRITER, BLOGGER AND ENVIRONMENTAL CAMPAIGNER

'It should be read by all those battling against government policies that put money ahead of science and the environment. The book's conclusion is that the culls will be stopped, not by science or validity, but by cost. Yet Dyer remains optimistic: 'Despite all the incompetence, negligence and deceit, it's the caring compassionate British public who have made a stand for wildlife that gives me the most hope for the future.'

- LESLEY DOCKSEY, THE ECOLOGIST, 'Why are our badgers 'Badgered to Death'?'

Book Information
ISBN 9780993040757
Author Dominic Dyer
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Canbury
Publisher Canbury Press
Weight(grams) 170g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 16mm