Saturday the 28th June saw members of Bath Activist Network join with 200 others to make a stand against the proposed slaughter of Britain's small badger population [180,000 of the total 300,000 population], touted as a false solution to bovine TB infecting British farms.

While the official Viva! demo sent out a strong message, as with last time, we're prepared to stop the badger cull directly in the field. The image of activists outside the Welsh Assembly, which was due to vote on whether to accept the cull in Wales [despite the overabundance of critical science reports by the Government's own scientists on the validity of such as solution] looked impressive, as did the family dressed as badgers. We don't yet know the result of their vote, but if it does get accepted, then it will pave the way moreso for a wider cull throughout the rest of England.

Things hotted up however, when 35 activists decided to round the day off by taking on Cardiff's other investors in cruelty, in the form of its foie gras selling restaurants. Demonstrators chanted, leafleted, displayed banners, educated the public on the cruelty of the foie gras production, where ducks and geese are force-fed to the point of their liver expanding to about ten times its natural size in the last weeks of their lives. The first restaurant Woods Brasserie were forced to bar their doors to public, protesters and police alike, drawing their blinds and changing their menus, as we made a general nuisance of ourselves outside! The number of police doubled within minutes, and they served a Section 14 notice to move us on wilst quoting chunks of Section 5 legislation.
Unfortunately, this restaurant had showed such quick compliance at previous demos, changing back to the sale of foie gras soon after those other demonstrations' endings, so we can expect to be returning there soon.

We then made our way to Garcon just round the corner, and gave them the same treatment, only louder! Security and cops moved us on after 20 minutes, but not before all the passing public knew what Garcon did.

Following all this fun and frolics with a marching procession that took us back past Woods and then round towards Garcon again, the impromptu demo dispersed, with little groups going to carry on their part of the demo at different points within earshot of the animal abusers.

Throughout the day, members of public showed disgust at these restaurants and gave full support to our cause, shaking hands and taking leaflets. It was a short pair of demonstrations, with activists brought together from all round the country, such as Worcestershire, Wiltshrie, Gloucester, Birmingham, London, Sheffield, Bath, Cardiff, Reading, Hereford and beyond.