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Soldiers who drink snakes’ blood and eat live geckos and scorpions in training sessions are risking catching infectious coronavirus-type diseases and even causing a new pandemic, campaigners have warned.Thousands of troops from around the world take part each year in Cobra Gold joint military exercises in Thailand, where they are encouraged to kill and eat live creatures for “survival” drills, according to animal-rights group Peta. At last year’s event, American soldiers were filmed skinning and eating live geckos, drinking blood from a decapitated snake and biting into lizards and scorpions.They then passed the carcasses round for others to gnaw at.Some participants were also recorded killing chickens with their bare hands, and one also appeared to eat a tarantula, Peta said.The government says no UK troops take part in field training at Cobra Gold, and no UK forces were involved in last year’s drill.  But Peta has written to the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, urging him to use his influence to call on the organisers to drop the live animal exercises, replacing them with “more effective and ethical” animal-free training methods.The group says these practices pose a risk of spreading zoonotic diseases like coronavirus, endangering the troops involved and the public.Condemning the “ritualistic” and “barbaric” killing and consumption of animals, Peta also says it is driving species already under threat further towards extinction.The snakes involved last year were king cobras, listed by the IUCN as vulnerable, meaning they face “a high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future”. “Shipping military personnel to Thailand to drink the blood of beheaded snakes is the kind of absurdity that could spark the next pandemic,” says Peta’s science policy manager, Julia Baines.“The crude killing of animals during this annual drill not only risks public health and endangers species vulnerable to extinction, including the king cobra, but also disgraces our troops.”Since the 1970s, it is estimated at least three dozen infectious diseases have emerged from human interference with animals, including Sars, Mers, Ebola, bird flu, swine flu and the Zika virus. Scientists suspect the virus that caused Covid-19 originated in bats and was transmitted to humans through other animals.The letter says: “The crude killing of animals during this annual drill dishonours troops, risks public health, and endangers species vulnerable to extinction.”A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The UK contributes a small number of military planners to Exercise Cobra Gold. “We do not contribute troops to the field training component of the exercise, and no UK forces were involved in the drill highlighted by the Peta campaign.” It is understood that two military planners went to last year’s exercise, and one will go to this year’s exercise, in August. More

The 133-year-old West London bridge has been closed to traffic since April 2019 when cracks appeared in its pedestals.The bridge then closed to pedestrian, cyclist and river traffic in August 2020 after a heatwave caused the faults to “significantly increase”.Frustrated residents have now projected the “UK’s biggest Valentine’s Day card” onto the bridge to mark the six-month anniversary of its full closure.Billed as the “UK’s biggest Valentine’s Day card”, the message reads: “Broken Hearts. Broken Promises. Broken Lives. Broken Bridge.”Organisers said it was addressed to a number of politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, London mayor Sadiq Khan, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, and Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader Stephen Cowan.A government task force was launched in September last year with the aim of “opening the bridge as speedily as possible”, Mr Shapps said.He argued that at the time there had been a “lack of leadership in London on reopening this vital bridge”.Helen Pennant-Rea, chairwoman of the Hammersmith Bridge SOS Residents’ Group, said the “Valentine’s Day card” was intended to be a “fun and entertaining way to draw attention to what remains a serious issue”.She said: “It is a great shame that we need to raise further attention to the complete inability of politicians from all parties to find a satisfactory solution, to proceed with the funding and works to repair Hammersmith Bridge.”Also, to deliver the urgently needed temporary pedestrian crossing.”Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which owns the bridge, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister in August stating the estimated cost to make it safe and “avoid a potential catastrophic failure” is £46 million. More

The government failed to learn the lessons from the first wave of coronavirus last spring, resulting in a delayed national lockdown and a higher death rate over Christmas, Professor Neil Ferguson has suggested.The senior scientific adviser, who sits on the government’s Nervtag emergency virus committee, said a “fragmented” consensus over the correct level of restrictions meant the country was in a weaker position going into the winter.“Had we learnt the lessons properly from the first wave, then we would have been in a better situation coming into Christmas and much lower infection levels and therefore fewer deaths,” he told Sky News.By the end of January, half of the UK’s then-death toll of 100,000 had died in the weeks since mid-November. The total count now stands at more than 113,000.Ministers were advised in September by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) that a nationwide “circuit breaker” lockdown was needed to curb the rapid spread of the virus but they waited until October before bringing in the tiered system and delayed a full national shutdown until the beginning of January. “We would have been in a better position for the winter had we locked down earlier in the autumn,” Professor Ferguson said. “I think the most disappointing choice – you can always go back to March and say well people were balancing very difficult considerations, but by September we knew exactly what this virus could do.“Unfortunately, because in some sense the political consensus had fragmented, governments across Europe, and this is not particularly a criticism of this government, reacted too late. “So it was only in October that we really tightened up measures, and only in November that we locked down again and then not really for long enough.”Professor Ferguson also said it was likely that despite the rollout of vaccines, people would need to continue wearing masks and observing social distancing rules for “much of this year”.”I am hoping by this time next year, it will look a lot more normal,” he said. “Maybe there will still be mask wearing for mass gatherings and things like that but I very much doubt we will be anything like where we are now.” More

A “vacuum of information” on the characteristics of grooming gangs is fuelling continued abuse and allowing extremists to exploit it, MPs have said.In a delayed debate sparked by petitions on the issue, several politicians said a report published by the Home Office had not answered the questions many hoped it would.Tom Hunt, a Conservative member of the Petitions Committee who opened Wednesday’s debate, said many victims he had spoken to “feel that the report doesn’t go far enough”.“They believe it only touches upon the issues and if it is the start of something more significant then OK, but if it is the end of it they would be very unsatisfied,” he told the House of Commons.“They feel this was an issue that was swept under the carpet … [and] if it is the case that if certain crimes are disproportionately committed by members of certain communities, we should be open and honest about that and address it. “Because actually by sweeping it under the carpet it makes tensions and divisions worse down the line.”The Home Office report said that although a number of high-profile grooming cases, including Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford mainly involved men of Pakistani ethnicity, “links between ethnicity and this form of offending” could not be proven.The Home Office report said the “existing data would not answer the question of the relationship between ethnicity and child sexual exploitation,” adding: “Based on the existing evidence, and our understanding of the flaws in the existing data, it seems most likely that the ethnicity of group-based CSE offenders is in line with child sexual abuse more generally and with the general population, with the majority of offenders being white.”It was published in December following a petition demanding its release, which was signed by more than 130,000 people – automatically triggering a parliamentary debate.Conservative MP Sir John Hayes called the report a “study in obfuscation” and called for action on known modus operandi for grooming gangs, such as the use of taxis to find and pick up victims. More

The damaging practice of burning grouse moor peatlands will be partially banned in England, ministers have announced, prompting criticism that the measure does not go far enough.Some conservationists cautiously welcomed the crackdown, which will mean shoot organisers will no longer be allowed routinely to set fire to heather on ecologically sensitive sites.
But the ban comes with exceptions, and wildlife experts say more urgency is needed to help tackle the climate crisis.  The ban will apply to blanket bogs – peat more than 40cm deep – on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that is also a Special Area of Conservation or a Special Protection Area unless a licence has been granted or the land is steep or rocky.Environmentalists have for many years condemned the practice of setting light to upland peatlands that are rich in wildlife, which is done in winter to ensure grouse have new, more nutritious shoots of heather to eat before they are shot for sport.  But the burning releases carbon into the atmosphere, adding to the climate crisis. The UK has 13 per cent of the world’s blanket bog, which store more than 3,000 million tons of carbon.Wet bogs also support a range of birds, including breeding dunlin and golden plover.
Advocates of the burning say it protects areas from wildfires, and that differently aged heathers protect threatened ground-nesting birds.
But some experts argue burning makes the land vulnerable to fires, destroys habitats and increases flood risks.
The new ban also does not apply where scree makes up half the land area. And environment secretary George Eustice may also issue burning licences for “wildfire prevention, for a conservation purpose or where land is inaccessible to cutting or mowing machinery”. These licences may last several years.Luke Steele, of Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire’s Moors, said: “England’s grouse moors are woefully under-regulated so we welcome today’s announcement that burning on fragile blanket bog will no longer be routinely allowed in many areas.
“However, the legislation does not go far enough, given it fails to end burning on degraded shallow peatlands, which need restoring to their healthy, deeper state.  “In the midst of a climate emergency, there is no justification to allow fires to be set on any carbon-rich peatlands.”
More than 660 fires have been started on grouse moorlands in Yorkshire alone since 2018, according to new research by Mr Steele’s group.  The Wildlife Trusts questioned why the ban was only partial, saying: “If, in some places, the reason they are burnt is to prevent wildfires spreading over dry ground, the best way to stop fire happening is to block ditches and help the peat become wet again.
“It is deeply frustrating that it has taken so long for the government to commit to this – 14 months after it was first promised.  “It will be extremely embarrassing if we are still burning any of our peatlands when the climate conference meets at the end of the year.
“The government’s own advisers say we need to restore all upland peatlands to meet climate targets. So while it’s a tiny step forward, much greater urgency is needed across a huge range of comparably burning issues to protect our wildlife and tackle climate change.”
Natural England chairman Tony Juniper said: “This is a hugely welcome announcement that will see better protections for our globally important peatlands.”
The government says it will set out further steps to protect peatlands this year and a £640m Nature for Climate fund will launch a programme of peatland restoration. More

The home secretary told MPs that going on holiday was “not a valid reason” to leave home during the current lockdown and that the police presence at ports and airports would be increased.“Anyone who does not have a valid reason for travel will be directed to return home or they will face a fine,” she added.But there are fears that people who have already spent substantial sums of money on booked flights and accommodation will refuse to return home, take a £200 fine, and proceed with their holiday.Speaking to journalists on Thursday, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said police will not automatically stop travellers choosing to continue their journeys under current coronavirus legislation.Martin Hewitt explained that police can question people about their reasons for travel in airport terminals or car parks in the way they would in other public spaces.He said that those who do not have a reasonable excuse for travel under the law can be fined “but the process after that is being worked through”.“Whether they are then barred from travelling is not a police issue, that’s a borders issue,” Mr Hewitt added.“In the terminal we can stop and question people, but the point that needs clarification is whether there is something then that prevents travel.”Addressing the House of Commons on Wednesday, Ms Patel said people would also be required to declare their reason for travel, in a form which will be checked by carriers before departure.A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent the forms have not yet been issued, and it is unclear how carriers could void the legal agreements made with ticket holders at the time of purchase.There is no indication of any legal change that would afford police greater powers to prevent people from leaving the country.The Home Office said officers would also be carrying out more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating after returning to the UK from abroad. More

Schools in Northern Ireland will remain closed until at least the first week of March, the country’s first minister has said.Arlene Foster confirmed on Thursday that Stormont ministers would back a proposal brought forward by education minister Peter Weir, which called for current schooling arrangements to stay in place until 5 March at the earliest.  It means pupils would return to school on 8 March – providing Covid cases continue to fall and the country deems it safe – the same date Boris Johnson has said schools in England are set to reopen.At present, only vulnerable children and those of key workers are allowed to attend class under NI coronavirus guidelines.“The Executive has decided that schools will not be able to fully open again before 5 March, this will apply to all educational settings including pre-schools, nurseries, primaries and post-primaries,” Ms Foster said at a press conference.
“Special schools will remain open and mainstream schools will continue to provide supervised learning for vulnerable children and the children of key workers,” she added.“Childcare settings and child minders will also remain open.”
She said she understood that “for so many it will be felt as a disappointment that we cannot yet press the restart button on this and indeed many other aspects of daily life” but that this was the country’s best hope of getting “our young people back into the classroom as soon as possible”.  “As a working mother of children still in full time education, I have a sense how difficult home schooling can be practically, educationally, and emotionally,” she said. “The kitchen table is no substitute for the school desk and as my children would no doubt agree, parents are no substitute for trained teachers or lecturers.”Sending a “message to all the young people”, Ms Foster said: “We understand how difficult this is for you, you are coping with much change and much uncertainty and we recognise the new challenges which you are experiencing and we are determined to do all we can to support you as well.
“We know you haven’t had the benefit of in-class teaching for the equivalent of half a school year, since the start of Covid-19, and for those who in exam transition points this has been a particularly difficult time.”It comes one week after NI moved to extend its current coronavirus lockdown to 5 March, and just a day after Mr Johnson announced schools in England would not reopen until at least 8 March either.  Ms Foster did not specify if ministers had voted to follow Mr Weir’s phased return approach, in which he suggested not all pupils should return to school on 8 March. Instead, he said, schools should start by allowing just priority groups to return such as children in key exam years.Mr Weir also urged Executive colleagues to support his request for special school teachers to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccinations, similar to the current calls being made across England for teachers still going in to work to be given jabs as a matter of urgency.Ms Foster said at the news event that government ministers had been told earlier that NI’s R rate for new cases had fallen to “well below 1”, and is currently sitting between 0.65 and 0.8.  However, the number of patients in specialist intensive care is still high, she warned, with the R rate for hospital admissions falling between 0.8 and 0.9, and somewhere between 0.95 and 1.15 for ICU admissions. More

Mass badger culling will end after next year, the government has signalled, after years of controversy about the practice.
But wildlife campaigners expressed caution, the Badger Trust saying it remained “to be convinced of the sincerity of any commitment to bring the cull to an end”.
At the same time as the announcement, the government published figures showing 38,642 badgers were killed under four-year licences last year.
But the real figure is even higher because the 38,642 does not include “supplementary” licences, the trust warned.
The number is up on the previous year’s toll of 35,034.
Four months ago, The Independent revealed how leading scientists and wildlife experts including Jane Goodall and Virginia McKenna  issued a direct plea to Boris Johnson to cancel a planned badger cull expansion.The cull was designed to reduce the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) from badgers to cattle.
It prompted protests from the start, with opponents arguing it was not just cruel, but also actively spread TB, because when setts are disrupted, badgers will move about more than ever, potentially carrying disease with them.
Now, environment Secretary George Eustice has set out proposals for Natural England (NE) to stop issuing the current intensive cull licences for new areas after 2022, and to enable new licences to be cut short if the chief veterinary officer agrees.  Branding culling “unacceptable”, he said he was also planning to restrict any new supplementary cull licences to two years and stop re-issuing such licences in any areas where supplementary culling has previously been licensed.
Some 102,349 wild badgers have been killed since the current cull began in 2013, according to the Badger Trust.
Mr Eustice is also launching a public consultation and a call for views on proposals and longer-term options on how to curb TB in cattle.
In a written parliamentary statement, he said: “The bTB eradication strategy we published in 2014 is making progress. We are now seeing sustained improvements in the high-risk area. We need to build on this momentum to achieve bTB-free status for England by 2038.”He said work on developing a cattle vaccine was on track to be completed within five years.  Last year ministers were accused of breaking a pledge to end the culling of badgers by expanding projects to trap and shoot the animals.The Badger Trust said Mr Eustice’s announcement was “a real bag of mixed messages” and the charity was not confident that it did signal the end of the badger cull.  The Trust questioned the decision to release the figures on the same day as the announcement, “with the perceived – yet questionable – ‘good news’ ahead of the ‘very bad news’”.
It said another 38,000 or more badgers were likely to be culled this year, “paying the ultimate price for a policy based on highly controversial science”.
Dominic Dyer, a former Badger Trust chief executive, said: “In some areas of England the badger population has been so depleted by culling that the species is in danger of becoming locally extinct from areas which it has inhabited since the Ice Age.  “The government has dithered and delayed on finding on finding an exit strategy to badger culling.”
But he said ending issuing new licences was better for farmers, taxpayers and the future of badgers and marked “the beginning of the end of one of the darkest chapters in the history of farming and wildlife protection in England”.
Mr Eustice added: “I envisage that in future, some form of culling would be an option in exceptional circumstances to address any local disease flare-ups. This transitional period will also give us time to undertake badger vaccination pilots and develop our future badger vaccination policy.” More