DEFIANT animal lovers will release orphaned badgers into the wild – while the Government discusses a cull.
Conservative ministers want badger numbers cut because the animals can carry bovine TB and transmit it to cattle.
But the cull has faced fierce opposition from wildlife groups – and today (Friday) 14 orphaned badger cubs, reared in captivity, will be released in the Surrey Hills by the East Surrey Badger Protection Society.
Ray Ings, who co-founded the group in 1979 and later set up the national body that is now The Badger Trust, said the 14 badgers have been tested for disease.
"None of them are from any TB areas," he said.
"They are clean as a whistle, farmers can be assured of that.
"These cubs have been orphaned because their mother has been killed, usually in a road traffic collision.
"It is human activity that has caused them to become orphans and we have to decide if our wildlife is important, and if we do, this is what a civilised society does. We are just giving them a chance.
"Badgers have been persecuted for many years, but people should not be worried about TB in badgers in Surrey; it is not an issue."
He expressed delight at the Government's announcement on Tuesday that a cull of badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset would be shelved until next year.
The decision to postpone was taken after several delays due to factors including the weather and legal challenges from opponents, but environment secretary Owen Paterson insisted the policy is "absolutely intact".
Farmers fear a spread of the disease, which can be fatal to cattle, could threaten their livelihoods, and have criticised the protection group's release of the animals.
Simon Maiklem, who farms about 600 dairy and beef cattle in Leigh, said: "We are in a TB-free area so obviously my major concern is if TB gets into Surrey, and it is coming closer and closer.
"At some point we have got to do something. It is costing the country a fortune and a lot of heartache. It is a horrific problem for everyone involved.
"The point of having the cull was to see if it worked. Any other country that has eradicated TB has had a wildlife cull of some sort.
"I have badgers on one of my farms and I am happy to see them. What I don't want is a whole lot of foreign badgers coming in possibly driving them out, or possibly infecting them."
