Dorset loses a Badger Champion
Dorset’s wildlife protectors thought it was bad enough when the badger cull arrived last year. Given that the level of bovine TB in Dorset had been falling since 2012, without resorting to the needless and unscientific killing of badgers, people found it hard to believe that Natural England had given the go-ahead for culling.
Dorset for Badger & Bovine Welfare (DBBW) and the Dorset Hunt Saboteurs moved from frantic sett mapping to equally frantic organising of setting up Camp Badger (for those who came from across the country to help protect the badgers) and organising nightly ‘wounded badger patrols’. Central to it all was a remarkable woman – Sue Chamberlain.
On January 13th this year, Dorset’s badgers were left reeling from another blow. Sue lost her battle with cancer and died. The founder of DBBW, Andrew Butler, wrote this heart-breaking tribute:
“In May 2013 there was a meeting at Dorchester town hall to discuss the impending badger cull and the possibility of it coming to Dorset. All eyes were focused on the stage, where the stars of the movement against the cull including Brian May and the head of the RSPCA spoke. But it was in the crowd, listening quietly and unassumingly, that the real lynchpin of the group to protect Dorset’s badgers sat; she just didn’t know it yet.
“Sue Chamberlain came to the very first meeting of what became Dorset for Badger and Bovine Welfare and she didn’t miss a single one from that moment on. In fact it was Sue who organised the meetings; setting the dates, letting people know, answering the emails, posting on Facebook, circulating minutes… and that was just the beginning. We cannot overstate just how much Sue did to grow, maintain and keep the group grounded. Sue was our rock; our administrator, our merchandise queen, our fundraiser, coordinator, liaison with the authorities, the person who got things done, who made sure that when the badger cull came to Dorset everyone knew where they needed to be in order to save as many animals as possible. Sue could be out in the field one night, and on the phone dealing with any problems that arose all the next day. Nothing was ever too much trouble, no problem was insurmountable.
“This is all the more remarkable given that Sue was fighting her own private battle against cancer, and on Wednesday 13 January it became the fight she could not win, and the animals and a great many people lost a true and brave friend.
“Sue, we love you and miss you. Rest well, you more than earned it.”
Not many of the people turning out for the wounded badger patrols or phoning in reports knew that Sue had cancer. Her dedication to badgers, her energy and wish to be fully involved gave no sign of it.
At her funeral, which her family rightly dubbed a thanksgiving service, the village church was packed with people whose lives Sue had touched, for whatever interest Sue took up, she became fully involved. She was the greatest co-ordinator and bringer-together of people one could ever meet.
Pews were stuffed, people stood in the aisle and at the back of the church, and all were greeted with Queen’s music, Sue being a supporter of Brian May and his Save Me Trust. And the village hall could barely cope with the numbers who gathered after the service to share tea, cake, wine and their memories of Sue.
Among the mourners were representatives of Dorset Police, in full dress uniform. Because of Sue, Dorset went into the culls with a police liaison team already in place and supportive of how the wounded badger patrols were going to operate. Because of that, Dorset’s first cull was far less difficult for patrollers than either Somerset or Gloucester. And because of Sue, that team remains in place for the duration.
DBBW are coming to terms with just how much Sue did, reorganising themselves to cover all her many roles. One thing is certain – they will be stronger and even more active in their protection of badgers. Think of it as a lasting memorial to an amazing person.
Lesley Docksey on behalf of DBBW