Editing Brian May (section)

===Animal welfare===

In 2010, May formed an animal welfare organisation [[Save Me (animal welfare)|Save Me]] (named after the [[Save Me (Queen song)|May-written Queen song]]). It campaigns for the protection of wild animals with a particular emphasis on preventing hunting of foxes and the culling of badgers. May has commented that "to this day, nobody has been able to prove a mechanism for the transfer of [[Mycobacterium bovis|bTB]] from badger to cow" and has suggested that culling badgers has no benefit.<ref name="animal welfare">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jul/12/badger-cull-wales-brian-may | location=London | work=[[The Guardian]] | title=Kill the cull, not the badgers | first=Brian | last=May | date=12 July 2010 | access-date=11 December 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426073000/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jul/12/badger-cull-wales-brian-may?showallcomments=true#start-of-comments | archive-date=26 April 2016 | url-status=live }}</ref> The group's primary concern is to ensure that the [[Hunting Act 2004]] and other laws protecting animals are retained in situ.<ref name="save-me.org.uk"/>

In an interview in September 2010 with [[Stephen Sackur]] for the BBC's ''[[HARDtalk]]'' program, May said that he would rather be remembered for his animal welfare work than for his music or scientific work.<ref>HARDtalk {{YouTube|MZ4eeS5D8dc|"clip of May's interview"}}, [[BBC]], 22 September 2010.</ref> May is supporter of the [[International Fund for Animal Welfare]], the [[League Against Cruel Sports]], [[PETA UK]] and the Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue. In March 2012, May contributed the foreword to a target paper published by the think tank the [[Bow Group]], urging the government to reconsider its plans to cull thousands of badgers to control [[bovine TB]], stating that the findings of Labour's major badger culling trials, several years earlier, show that culling does not work. The paper was authored by Graham Godwin-Pearson with contributions by leading [[tuberculosis]] scientists, including [[John Krebs, Baron Krebs|Lord Krebs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bowgroup.org/content/bow-group-urges-government-scrap-badger-cull-plans |title=Bow Group urges the Government to Scrap Badger Cull plans |publisher=Bow Publishing |date=25 March 2012 |access-date=8 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428121850/http://www.bowgroup.org/content/bow-group-urges-government-scrap-badger-cull-plans |archive-date=28 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/26/badger-cull-bovine-tb-cattle-vaccination |title=Badger Cull divides Tories |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=26 March 2012 |access-date=8 May 2012 |location=London |first=Patrick |last=Barkham |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827100729/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/mar/26/badger-cull-bovine-tb-cattle-vaccination |archive-date=27 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Tories-calling-badger-cull-scrapped/story-15704061-detail/story.html |title=Now even Tories are calling for the badger cull to be scrapped |work=[[Western Morning News]] |date=3 April 2012 |access-date=8 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831003704/http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Tories-calling-badger-cull-scrapped/story-15704061-detail/story.html |archive-date=31 August 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> This prefaced his 2024 documentary, ''Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me,'' the culmination of a four-year investigation into whether badger culling is necessary for bovine TB prevention.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mangan |first=Lucy |date=23 August 2024 |title=Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me review – the Queen star could save so many animals' lives |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/aug/23/brian-may-the-badgers-the-farmers-and-me-review-the-queen-star-could-save-so-many-animals-lives |access-date=4 September 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

In October 2010, May received an award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in recognition of his animal welfare work.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2010|title=Queen guitarist Brian May recognised by animal charity|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11558588|website=BBC News|language=en-GB|archive-date=|archive-url=}}</ref>

In May 2013, May teamed up with actor [[Brian Blessed]] and [[Flash animation|Flash]] cartoonist [[Jonti Picking|Jonti "Weebl" Picking]], as well as animal welfare groups including the [[RSPCA]], to form Team Badger, a "coalition of organisations that have teamed up to fight the planned cull of badgers".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.teambadger.org.uk/about_teambadger.html |title=About TeamBadger |publisher=Teambadger.org.uk |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629142202/http://teambadger.org.uk/about_teambadger.html |archive-date=29 June 2014 }}</ref> With Weebl and Blessed, May recorded a single, "[[Save the Badger Badger Badger]]"—a [[Mashup (music)|mashup]] of Weebl's viral 2003 Flash cartoon [[Internet meme|meme]], "[[Badger Badger Badger]]", and Queen's "[[Flash (song)|Flash]]", featuring vocals by Blessed. On 1&nbsp;September 2013, "Save the Badger Badger Badger" charted at No. 79 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 39 on the UK [[iTunes]] chart<ref name="digitalspy">{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a511347/brian-mays-save-the-badger-badger-badger-song-climbs-itunes-chart.html|title=Brian May's 'Save the Badger Badger Badger' song climbs iTunes chart|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=2 September 2013|date=30 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902200043/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a511347/brian-mays-save-the-badger-badger-badger-song-climbs-itunes-chart.html|archive-date=2 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and No. 1 on the iTunes Rock chart.<ref name="theguardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/30/badger-protest-song-brian-may|title=Badger protest song by Brian May reaches charts|newspaper=[[Newsquest|The Guardian]]|access-date=2 September 2013|date=30 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901161808/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/30/badger-protest-song-brian-may|archive-date=1 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2013 naturalist Sir [[David Attenborough]] and rock guitarist [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] joined May to form a supergroup, Artful Badger and Friends, and released a song dedicated to badgers, "Badger Swagger".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/04/slash-david-attenborough-brian-may-badger-swagger | title=Slash and David Attenborough join Brian May in pro-badger supergroup | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=4 June 2013 | access-date=16 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827184207/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/04/slash-david-attenborough-brian-may-badger-swagger | archive-date=27 August 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref>

May is a former vice-president of the RSPCA. In September 2024, he resigned his position as vice-president after "damning evidence" emerged of animal welfare failings at [[RSPCA Assured]] farms.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prior |first1=Malcolm |title=Queen's Brian May quits RSPCA over its food welfare label |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy97y5y3wjo |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=4 October 2024 |date=27 September 2024}}</ref>