Gloucestershire police leave halted during badger cull

“Having re-read Martin Surl's comments on police leave, even though he was a serving police officer I am amazed at the triteness and insensitivity of his comments.

The police have had no leave during the summer because of the Olympics, and are now told that they won't get any until the New Year. The Gloucestershire Police Federation fears officers will become exhausted, and being involved in a crash could be a real possibility.

How does Martin respond? 'Whilst I appreciate the strain the force and many individual officers are under, they have faced similar before and will face similar or worse in the future. That's policing.' Really? Isn't that the sort of treatment handed out to the nurses? Police officers cannot strike which is perhaps why the Home Secretary after receiving the Winsor Report approved a pay deal cutting £150m under the officers latest pay deal. If police officers cannot even have reasonable holidays, how do we expect to retain or attract high calibre police officers?

'Our police are not there just to police the routine but the unexpected and major too. I don't hear any officers involved in the search for a missing child saying they are over stretched.'
How on earth can he equate supporting an unnecessary event such as badger culling with searching for a missing child? How would the parents April Jones parents feel to hear the increasingly desperate search for their daughter included in the same sentence as badger culling?”

“Amongst the arguments against badger culling is that it is not only scientifically flawed but does not seek to gather data about the culled badgers to justify further culling in the future.

To work the culling must eliminate every badger in the south west. Nature abhors a vacuum and others will arrive to take their place. Consequently as badgers from the rest of the UK move in they must be culled as well.

Who is paying for this ridiculous and callous policy? You guessed it YOU the tax player.
If anything in this whole sorry tale could be funny it is that two groups, the farmers and bankers are generally Conservative supporters; anti-benefits and anti-subsidy. Yet when they are in trouble who has to bale them out? Yes YOU the taxpayer.

I am not anti-farmer. I fully supported their position over inadequate payments for the milk they produce and that's part of the problem. The industry needs sorting out so that farmers are adequately recompensed for the product they provide. If they were, they might feel better able to adopt more humane and effective measures such as badger inoculation, and more secure bio diversity measures.

What is unacceptable is that at a time of financial crisis, with the police service suffering cuts and having to reduce personnel and sell police stations and still somehow provide an effective service that they should be diverted to prop up a flawed badger strategy which could not succeed if farmers and not the tax payer paid the bill.

No matter what Martin Surl might say, this cull is an unnecessary distraction at a time when communities have to accept reduced policing.

The service was stretched after the Olympics, but that was in the national interest. This time the police service is to be stretched again for a sectional interest. The very fact that police leave has been cancelled is evidence of that.”

“Emwye I think you may be right and there are two sides to this, but what I do think is that Gloucestershire Police 'should' be able to cope with this. Officers I know have had leave cancelled for the Olympics and need a break; surely this can be achieved without resorting to the media. Officers and staff also need to be recognised for the valuable job they do and the Echo headline tonight doesn't help.

The challenge now must be to find a solution which is fair to the officers,their families and the public.

If we need mutual aid lets sort it and share the burden, but I don't like seeing this played out in public.

Defra or the Government must pay the costs not the tax payer in Gloucestershire.”

“I do not think you are being fair to officers who are already stretched. To call it an "event" implies it is a one off occasion - it could be night after night after night, week after week that they are called upon, which is of course why leave is cancelled until January!

I am sure they will do give it their best - the question is whether this is reasonable to ask - and safe, given the high level of policing requirement that has already been experienced this year.”

“This story reflects badly on our police and I doubt most feel that way.

Policing this event is well within the capability of the Gloucestershire Police and whilst I appreciate the strain the force and many individual officers are under, they have faced similar before and will face similar or worse in the future. That's policing.

Our police are not there just to police the routine but the unexpected and major too. I don't hear any officers involved in the search for a missing child saying they are over stretched.

I have confidence in CC Matthews to make sure his officers are not deployed to a level where their safety is at risk, so I suggest the federation sit down with him and work it out.

As to the rights and wrongs of the cull that's not for the police -they must be neutral.

Martin Surl
Independent Candidate
Police & Crime Commissioner”

“I hope the Police will be armed with all the guns that will be around. Also I hope they get paid double time for working nights.”

“To Countrylad

I do not understand why you are assuming that because I care about badgers I cannot care about people. The two are not mutually exclusive. I do not wish ill on anyone, human or animal.
If my comment appeared flippant then I apologize. It is because I am sickened by the way people are talking about slaughtering badgers as if they are of no consequence, especially since the Krebs trials have shown us that the cull will make "no meaningful difference to the spread of bovine BT.”

“I think countrylad - the police will be spending more time policing those exercising their right to lawful protest. Unless you also suggest that the Magna Carta be re-written to allow badgers to be killed?”

“I feel really sorry for the police here - they have to remain impartial, but policing the badger cull is clearly the last thing they want to be doing. Given that around 85% of the public oppose shooting badgers (and presumably privately many police officers) it is an uneviable task. I very much hope they are not blamed - and everyone stays peaceful! Even though mass badger shooting will feel heartbreaking beyond words - it is not the police who are doing this - but they will have no choice but to stand between the marksmen and people who want to protect badgers.

Best thing for everyone especially the police is to stop this madness before it starts.”

“Poppyfield you just prove what I have been saying all along, That some of the Anti Cull supporters have no thoughts for anyone else, I cannot understand the outcry over a few Badgers, when every day cattle are being killed due to TB,
Dont tell me the RSPCA are behind the No Cull, because they dont give a stuff about animals, Last week they killed 40 sheep, rather than give them vet care,

I wish the police all the luck in arresting those who cause trouble at the Culls,
Poppyfield your attitude stinks.”