Badger hanged from pitch goalposts

European badger (Meles meles), young cub foraging in daylight, England, UK

A badger has been hanged to death from the goalposts of a football pitch in Brentwood.

The incident has been condemned as ‘horrific’ by Keith Taylor MEP, the Green Party spokesperson on animal rights.

He believes it is connected to the government’s decision to extend the badger cull.

The senior Green politician and Vice Chair of the European Parliament’s Animal Welfare Intergroup, said: “This is a disturbing and violent crime against a protected species. It is also a symbol of one of the many problems of the government’s cruel and unnecessary badger cull. The Tories have effectively declared it open season on badgers. How can we tackle cruelty against our protected wildlife when Ministers openly sanction it?”