The greater good

In "Wind in the Willows", Badger was wise, he helped Ratty and Toad to overcome the Weasels, the bad guys !! How has such a wise old fellow fallen foul of humans that we wish to cull him into oblivion. Well of course the real baddies are in fact the humans, it is they who will be obeyed, irrespective of the cost. The bovine tuberculosis that is prevalent in the Badger is spreading into the cow and infecting the herds.    Its not on behalf of the cow who is soon to be slaughtered anyway but on behalf of the farmer and the income he gains in selling the milk and the beef. Of course food is essential and the farming lobby has the backing of the food industry which puts poor old badger in a tricky position, his vote is much diminished by self interest. He could have entered the immunisation program but of course the program was still born, too expensive, too difficult and the badgers voice was drowned in the convenience of a cull.
So we have the shotguns out at night looking for wise old Badger, Ratty can't hide him and Toad is too self indulgent to care, only the humans, well at least some of them have his interests at heart. They our out roaming the fields attempting to disrupt the men with the guns from their work. The media lampoon and deride these lonely vigilantes, they are after all none conformists and that's the last thing our masters need. To question the thoughts of the establishment is inherently bad, not necessarily for us (in fact its good to question virtually everything and form your own opinion) but for the smooth running of the "greater good". Do you smell the pigs in Orwells Animal Farm ?