:00:00. > :00:07.on the BBC News channel, with all the very latest on the dramatic
:00:08. > :00:13.Good afternoon. Over 1,000 people have taken part in a march and rally
:00:14. > :00:17.in Birmingham calling on the Government to end its policy of
:00:18. > :00:20.culling badgers. ?36 million was spent last year on pilot schemes
:00:21. > :00:29.designed to reduce cases of bovine TB, as Carole Foster reports.
:00:30. > :00:39.Organisers admitted the turnout wasn't as large as they expected but
:00:40. > :00:42.the determination was obvious. It has no economic justification and it
:00:43. > :00:46.has no animal welfare justification at all. Julie Buxton from Birmingham
:00:47. > :00:50.had never even seen a badger before the cull began but she was driven to
:00:51. > :00:58.get involved and organised today's march. The Government's own
:00:59. > :01:03.backbenchers are saying, stop this cull, science is wrong. The
:01:04. > :01:07.Government should be listening. 2,000 badgers were shot in the
:01:08. > :01:09.autumn cull, just over half the number planned.The Government say
:01:10. > :01:12.it's following scientific advice tackling a problem which has cost
:01:13. > :01:19.the country millions of pounds a year but campaigners say support for
:01:20. > :01:23.the cull is dwindling. I think there's a lot of problems of
:01:24. > :01:27.extending it and a lot of problems keeping it going in the areas it is
:01:28. > :01:30.currently being done in, and public opinion and hostility is growing
:01:31. > :01:36.rapidly and MPs realise that as well. Campaigners say the killings
:01:37. > :01:40.were badly organised and unnecessary. They are planning more
:01:41. > :01:43.of these protests across the country to persuade the government to never
:01:44. > :01:50.carry out culling again but to use that the nation instead. `` to use
:01:51. > :01:54.vaccinations. Farmers say 28,000 cattle were slaughtered because of
:01:55. > :01:56.bovine TB last year. Now the Government is under increasing
:01:57. > :02:00.pressure to prove it's made the right decision about how to tackle
:02:01. > :02:03.to problem. Religious leaders and Islamic meat
:02:04. > :02:05.producers from across the country have been meeting in Warwickshire
:02:06. > :02:10.today to agree on clearer guidelines about when chickens can be sold as
:02:11. > :02:13.halal. They want to make sure that birds which have been slaughtered by
:02:14. > :02:19.machines cannot be labelled as religiously acceptable. The
:02:20. > :02:23.abattoirs can step up to the mark. They have proven that an shown that.
:02:24. > :02:29.They can be very competitive. They just have to re`kit hire Muslims
:02:30. > :02:36.slaughter is and then we can export for halal and sell halal. We already
:02:37. > :02:39.in the situation where we are importing halal from as far away as
:02:40. > :02:41.Thailand and we don't want that to happen.
:02:42. > :02:45.Walsall Council has announced plans to freeze council tax bills next
:02:46. > :02:49.year despite needing to make savings of ?21 million. The proposals are
:02:50. > :02:51.due to be discussed next week. They include a commitment to keep all
:02:52. > :02:54.existing library, leisure and children's centres open.
:02:55. > :02:58.Speedway will continue to take place at the Brandon Stadium near Coventry
:02:59. > :03:02.despite it being unexpectedly sold. The Coventry Bees will be able to
:03:03. > :03:05.race there for the next three years regardless of the new owners but
:03:06. > :03:08.it's been announced that tonight's greyhound meeting will be the last
:03:09. > :03:11.to be held there. Let's catch up with the sports
:03:12. > :03:14.results now, starting with Premiership football. Stoke lost at
:03:15. > :03:21.The Britannia 1`0 to Manchester City. West Bromwich Albion were at
:03:22. > :03:24.home to Fulham, the match ending 1`1, with a late goal from the
:03:25. > :03:27.Baggies securing a vital point in the relegation battle.
:03:28. > :03:32.In the Championship, Birmingham City won 2`1 away at Blackpool.
:03:33. > :03:36.While in League One, Wolves won 3`0 away at Brentford and are now joint
:03:37. > :03:38.top of the League. Shrewsbury won away at Notts Count, the score there
:03:39. > :03:40.3`2. While Port Vale lost 3`1 at home to
:03:41. > :03:44.Crewe. Coventry lost 3`1 away to Tranmere.
:03:45. > :03:47.And Walsall lost 2`1 against Crawley.
:03:48. > :03:53.In League Two it was a win for Cheltenham, beating Newport 1`0.
:03:54. > :03:55.Moving onto the Conference, and it finished Dartford two, Hereford
:03:56. > :03:58.zero. While Kidderminster drew 2`2 at home against Braintree. Nuneaton
:03:59. > :04:01.lost heavily at home against tabletoppers Luton, the score there
:04:02. > :04:08.5`0, while Tamworth drew 1`1 with Welling.
:04:09. > :04:10.And there were a couple of local rugby fixtures today, both in the
:04:11. > :04:15.Aviva Premiership. Gloucester beat Harlequins 25`20 but Worcester were
:04:16. > :04:18.beaten by Sale, losing 24`12. Let's catch up with the weather now,
:04:19. > :04:23.here's Kaye Forster with the forecast.
:04:24. > :04:27.Good evening. It was nice to see some sunshine today but
:04:28. > :04:32.unfortunately there isn't that much of that on offer tomorrow. We pick
:04:33. > :04:38.up much more cloud and wind, and another windy day for us tomorrow.
:04:39. > :04:41.The winds will blow in some patchy rain tonight but not particularly
:04:42. > :04:47.problematic. The temperatures will be held up by that, so quite mild. A
:04:48. > :04:51.damp start for us tomorrow morning with spotty rain around first thing.
:04:52. > :04:54.The rain will be migrating northwards and westwards through the
:04:55. > :04:58.day, so southern areas and eastern areas could have a dry afternoon,
:04:59. > :05:03.and it will be particularly mild with highs of 11 or 12. A visit from
:05:04. > :05:19.us for now. Good night. Hello. For some places today I am
:05:20. > :05:20.sure it felt that spring