Dartmoor Badger Protection League

Update

The Dartmoor Badger Protection League is no longer in operation.

But, there is a superb new organisation called The Badger Protection League - you can find their details at:

http://badgerprotectionleague.com
The Badger Protection League is an independent website supported by many societies, groups, VIP’s and Celebrities. They need your help in fighting against the proposed killing of thousands of badgers in England and Wales. Unless all our voices heard, badgers will be killed from May 2011. They will either be cage-trapped and shot or shot free-running despite the protection legislation afforded to them. The Badger Protection League are well worth your support.

Devon Badger Groups

If you like to contact a Devon-based local badger group for advice, please consider:

Plymouth & South-West Devon Badger Group = Badger Trust Member
Devon Mammal Group

Other Badger Action Groups

These Badger Action Groups also exist:

Plymouth Badger Action Group

About Badger Action Groups

So far as it is possible to generalise, a Badger Action Group is an organisation which helps stop DEFRA killing badgers. People in these organisations may go to great lengths to love and care for badgers, and to protect them from the officials from the DEFRA.

Some members of some Direct Action Groups may take very firm action against equipment, people and organisations who are involved in the capture, ill treatment or slaughter of badgers. So far as we are aware, as at June 2003, they are not members of the Badger Trust.

If you wish to join a less "militant" badger group, or one which does provide Badger Trust membership, please contact the Badger Trust.

History of the Dartmoor Badger Protection League

The Dartmoor Badger Protection League was founded in 1977 by Jack Simpson, Brenda Charlesworth and Colonel Miles Skewes-Cox, Nick Nakorn (Publicity Officer) and Ed Burrell of the Indio Design Partnership. In 1977, Norman Hallet and Aubrey Paul of Hallet-Paul Publicity in Newton Abbot were very supportive with their time and office facilities. The DBPL was formed to counter the gassing of badgers on Corndon Tor by the Ministry of Agriculture. In that year hundreds of members camped on the tor for many months to prevent the killing of badgers. By 1979, Brenda Charlesworth and others from the league had already seen Lord Zuckerman at Westminster to try and extend the protected status of the badger in Britain; and to badger the academics into questioning some dodgy "scientific research" work done by the then Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF).

The DBPL was reformed as a national group in 1984 by Brenda Charlesworth and the writer John Bainbridge to take direct action against MAFF badger trapping. For many months in 1985 volunteers camped in Park Wood at Spitchwick on Dartmoor and physically prevented the MAFF from setting badger traps.

The group folded circa 2002.