Thursday 19 September 2013

Animal rights campaigner Joan Court, 94, goes on 'hunger strike' over badger cull

Veteran animal rights activist Joan Court has announced a temporary ‘hunger strike’ in protest at the badger cull – at the age of 94.

The tireless campaigner, of Sturton Street, Petersfield, will travel on Monday to Gloucestershire, where a trial of the cull is getting under way.

On Tuesday morning, she will start a 24-hour sponsored fast in Tewkesbury market square and is hoping to raise funds for the battle against the shootings.

Joan said she was “going on hunger strike in protest at the badger cull”, which is aimed at preventing the spread of bovine tuberculosis to cattle, in spite of her advancing years.

She said: “I think the cull is horrendous, unnecessary, unscientific and brutal.

“We are wiping out our wild animals when all the scientific advice is the same, that we should concentrate on vaccinating. I would like to be with the hunt saboteurs but I think the most useful thing I can do is to raise money to help stop the cull.”

Joan, a founding member of Animal Rights Cambridge, is famous for her radical acts of protest – throughout her 70s and 80s, she chained herself to railings, locked herself in a cage, and went on four hunger strikes.

And while her age largely prevents her from taking part in direct action, she said she still wanted to contribute what she could.

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