MONTY has been in touch again: the last time he called, four years ago, Special Branch interrogated me in a dingy basement at North Wales Police HQ.
Since then the Animal Liberation Front has been strangely silent. But this morning Monty was back on the phone; and threatening mayhem in the Welsh countryside.
The Assembly Government’s decision to plan a badger cull, as part of a £27m programme to eradicate bovine TB, has certainly prodded a hornets’ nest. People who had been utterly unaware of the alarming cattle welfare crisis in Wales have suddenly been roused by the prospect of badgers being culled.
Almost certainly more will be killed on the country’s roads than in the pilot cull. But the culling policy is no less contentious for that. In an Assembly debate on the issue on Tuesday, Labour AM Lorraine Barrett warned that Welsh tourism would suffer and, judging by my email inbox, she may have a point.
More than that, badger culling in Wales may herald the return of mainstream animal activism. Since the partial ban on hunting with hounds, many animal rights groups (as opposed to animal welfare groups) have been organisations without a cause, save the occasional laboratory protest.
Hence Monty’s four-year silence.
Now he’s back - with a vengeance. His ex-military crack squad of four ALF sympathisers (his words) say they will cut fences and destroy crops, starting in Carmarthenshire, the likely pilot cull area.
They won’t harm livestock, of course.
“We’ll hit them where it hurts most - in the pocket,” he said.
“They’ll find it very difficult to get insurance.”
But not all farmers support a badger cull - how will he know who to attack?
“Don’t worry, we’ve got very good intelligence,” insisted Monty.
Scary threat or empty bluster? Only time will tell.
For the time being, said Monty, they plan to do nothing while the Badger Trust seeks a High Court judicial review of the Welsh badger cull.
Judi Hewitt wrote...
It's a strange sort of terrorism that has never killed anyone in its long existence. I am of course referring to the ALF, which incidentally embraces all AR groups, including my own.
ALF might sound ominous, but we are all just very compassionate people who hate cruelty to defenceless animals. Certainly not the kind to deserve the attentions of Special Branch. But then money has always been more important than human or animal life. Hence the reason some animal activists are serving sentences for crimes (smashing windows, threatening letters, trespass) that more ruthless violent yobs would walk free from court over.
A few days ago, my colleague Jean, received a threatening letter full of filthy abuse, for making just one comment in a newspaper about the Grand National. All the police have done is issue her with a contact number should it happen again. So much for justice!
But getting back to real law breakers, I would rather take my chances with Monty (whoever he is) than your average yob.
As I said in my blog, the farmers are to blame for TB, not the badgers.
Basically, they don't want tighter cattle restrictions or more stringent testing, because it's too much trouble for them. Brynle Williams admitted as much himself. Well tough! It's the only way you are ever going to stop TB in the LONG term.
The Assembly should adopt Northern Ireland's policy, and make farmers more accountable for their animals.
Judi Hewitt, Nowar
Posted by: Judi Hewitt | April 18, 2008 10:52 AM