Badger Cull Challenge Fails

A national campaign called Stop the Cull was launched today in a bid to stop a proposed badger cull. The rally went ahead despite The Badger Trust losing its High Court challenge against a planned cull in Gloucestershire and West Somerset.

What you've heard is that the judicial review failed. It isn't totally unexpected. What you've got to remember is that judges do not review the scientific evidence, they do not review the ethical considerations. All they do is look at the technicalities. The issue was did the Government break any procedural rules? It was a good thing to try and I am not actually very much daunted by the fact it failed.

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• environment
• badger

Music legend Brian May says the fight against culling badgers will continue despite the defeat in the courts. The Queen star was speaking at a rally in Bristol to launch a new national campaign called Stop the Cull.

The campaign is a united response by leading animal welfare charities opposed to the proposed badger cull, which is due to take place in Somerset and Gloucestershire later this month.

• UK
• environment
• badger

The Badger Trust says it will not give up after its challenge against government plans to cull thousands of badgers failed at the Court of Appeal. The government is planning two pilot culls, one in West Somerset and the other in West Gloucestershire. The challenge was unanimously rejected.

We are very disappointed. We don't know what the next step is, but we will not give up.

The Trust says that killing badgers will make no meaningful contribution to tackling the disease, which has been described as the most pressing animal health problem in the UK.

Lord Justice Laws, Lord Justice Rimer and Lord Justice Sullivan unanimously rejected the appeal, which was only concerned with statutory construction.

• UK
• environment
• badger

A challenge to culls which will kill thousands of badgers has failed at the Court of Appeal. The Badger Trust was challenging a decision in July to uphold government proposals for two pilot culls to tackle tuberculosis in cattle: one in West Gloucestershire and the other in West Somerset.

• UK
• environment
• badger