FENCE posts in Slad have had whimsical badgers re-painted on them to oppose a cull.

The posts, near The Batch in Swift's Hill, Slad, have been re-painted by a local artist.

They are believed to have been painted to oppose the badger cull, with one picture depicted a badger playing Scrabble and spelling out the words 'stop the badger cull'.

In a letter to the SNJ in December Slad resident Jeanne Berry wrote: "The government has now confirmed that this autumn 10,866 badgers were slaughtered across the country during the government badger cull.

"And 2,110 dead badgers were from Gloucestershire.

"Your readers may remember that the culls started four years ago in Gloucestershire in the Newent and Tewkesbury areas.

"This was meant to be a four-year pilot but despite still having no evidence that the cull is helping reduce cattle TB, they are now planning to allow the inhumane culling of this iconic and protected species to go on indefinitely in Gloucestershire.

"Earlier this year the cull was also rolled out to the North Cotswolds.

"Sadly it is now looking as though Stroud may be next in line for a similar indefinite cull with thousands of our local badgers being slaughtered against all scientific evidence.

"Of course the real killer point is that not one culled badger has ever been tested as a carrier of cattle TB.

"They all went straight to the incinerator as the government knows they are not a major source of cattle TB."

All photos by Simon Pizzey