CAMPAIGNING group Glou­cestershire Against Badger Shooting, (GABS), has been handed a major award by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

The voluntary group have been awarded the Best Not-For-Profit Campaign for the South of England and Channel Isles 2014 in the prestigious PRide Awards.

The group received the gold award for their public relations work in raising the profile of the lawful Wounded Badger Patrols to a wider audience to both recruit more volunteers and give a balanced view of the opponents during the 2013 Gloucestershire Badger Cull. 

The campaign was also commended for the recruitment of over 400 volunteers and the media coverage gained in relation to the budget available.

GABS spokesperson, Liz Gaffer said:  "We're delighted to have received this award which acknowledges both our professional approach and the integrity of our campaign work. We are a purely voluntary group and whilst we had very limited funding to help with our work we harnessed both the hearts and minds of hundreds of Gloucestershire residents who were prepared to let the government know they felt badger culling is not only ineffective and inhumane but also deeply unpopular."  The direct costs of the Wounded Badger Patrol Campaign totalled £3,800 and this was covered by donations from both individual volunteers and sponsorship from national organisations.

The cost of the badger cull is said to have been around £7million – which equates to over £4,000 per badger killed.