How do USA and UK readers compare when it comes to attitudes to, and stories about, wild animals and the environment? Disney, despite some of his dubious methods in the creation of wildlife films, turned a lot of people on to caring about animals. He may have had a big hand in anthropomorphising them, but that process began a long time ago in the form of fairytales, myths and fables.
The Badgers of Beechen Cliff falls into the same tradition of animals chatting to each other, displaying human emotions and trying to get themselves out of impossible situations. But it's not just a 'cuddly' story. I hope it has a rawness and a reality to it at some level.
Badgers, here in the UK, are in the news because the government has made it legal, within some restrictions, to shoot them, fearing that they spread TB to cattle. Whether this is appropriate or effective, when there are other more humane solutions, remains to be seen scientifically. My book, however, isn't a tirade against this particular stance. First of all, I hope it is just an exciting and funny story. But it also comes from a strongly-held belief that, when we treat other creatures in an offhand way, we diminish ourselves as human beings.
I know the UK is often portrayed, probably wrongly, as a nation of animal-lovers. Is this true of the USA?
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