An animal welfare group has enlisted the help of e-mail to prevent the legal slaughter of thousands of badgers in the drive to rid the cattle herd of bovine TB.
BadgerWatch Ireland has set up a special e-mail petition to stop the killing of 30 per cent of the indigenous population in selected areas where the badger is accused of spreading the disease to cattle.
However, according to Ms Bernie Barrett, BadgerWatch Ireland's co-ordinator, action by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, has already sparked a massive slaughter of badgers by farmers and badger-baiters.
"I am getting telephone calls nearly every day about the ruthless slaughter of badgers by unknown people but they are certainly not appointed to do the job by the State," she said.
"The Department of Agriculture has plans to appoint 75 full-time killers to carry out this mindless slaughter when there is just not enough scientific evidence that the badger is the main cause of the spread of the disease."
Ms Barrett said that because of the uncontrolled killing and the slaughter of thousands more, the species could be severely endangered.
The petition, which was set up by BadgerWatch member Mr Damian Meagher, has already attracted support from hundreds of people both in Ireland and abroad.