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Palestinian Olive Oil on sale
Autumn 2018
Olive oil from Zaytoun makes a great Christmas present, and supports Palestinian producers fighting Israeli settler aggression. It is available from Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign, call Sheff 2582734 or email oliveoil@sheffieldpsc.org.uk. (Please put "olive oil" in the subject line)
Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Ask Chatsworth Estate to stop killing badgers
Autumn 2018
Derbyshire Against The Cull asks you to sign a petition urging the Chatsworth Estate not to be involved in the cruel slaughter of the badger cull in Derbyshire. The Chatsworth Estate, owned by the Duke of Devonshire, has 35,000 acres (140 km2) of land across Derbyshire, including beef and dairy farms, home to hundreds of badgers.
The petition urges Chatsworth to support badger vaccination instead of killing, in an attempt to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). 2018 is the 6th year of these government-sanctioned death trials. DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) wants to reduce the badger population drastically by 70% in a 25-year plan, even though it is estimated this will only reduce bTB by 16%. The science linking badgers to the spread of bTB is dodgy. Issues such as cattle movements, farm bio-security and bad animal care are more likely causes of the spread of bTB.
20,000 badgers were killed last year alone. In Derbyshire a successful badger vaccination programme started in 2014, but now not even vaccinated badgers are safe.
Petition at Change.org
Sheffield anti-fracking protestor jailed
October 2018
Sheffield anti-fracking protestor and soil scientist Simon ‘Roscoe’ Blevins has been jailed for 16 months, and two co-defendants were also imprisoned, all for peaceful protest action, climbing onto lorries taking drilling equipment into the fracking site at Preston New Road near Blackpool. After Lancashire County Council rejected the application to frack from Cuadrilla in June 2015, this was overturned by the then Communities Secretary (now Home Secretary) Sajid Javid.
They received wide support amongst local people while occupying the lorries and outside their court appearances.
They are believed to be the first environmental protestors to be imprisoned in the UK since the 1932 Right-to-Roam mass trespass on Kinder Scout. His partner, speaking to crowds in Barkers Pool at the Global Frackdown Carnival on 13th October, told of their shock, anger and determination.
Sheffield is surrounded by three drilling sites where anti-fracking protests continue, at Marsh Lane, Tinker Lane and Misson, all threatening further expansion of fossil fuel use and damage to the climate.
Sheffield Against Fracking
Volunteer Social Media Coordinator wanted
September 2018
Campaigning group Acorn Sheffield are seeking a volunteer who wants experience in a social media role to join the team for a few hours a week. Must be keen to fight bad landlords via a tenant-owned union run by its members, building community power through direct action.
Email sheffield@acorncommunities.org.uk for a chat if you are interested.
