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Badger cull challenge rejected

A challenge to the Government decision to let the latest badger cull go ahead without monitoring by a panel of independent experts has been rejected at the High Court.

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Badger Trust: "..serious concerns remain over culls."

The Badger Trust says they are deciding whether to appeal after the High Court today rejected their request to stop the culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire, unless an expert panel was reinstated to oversee them.

“The Trust is considering its options in respect of an appeal against the Court’s decision.

This judgment does not detract from the serious public concerns over the continuation of the cull, including the most recent leaks regarding potentially unlawful and unsafe activity undertaken by culling contractors during the 2013 culls.

Given the indisputable failure of the 2013 culls, the still unresolved issues regarding safety, the only sensible option for the Secretary of State is to call a halt to these pilots.

if she is not willing to do so, we call on Ms Truss to reinstate the IEP.

Whatever happens during the second year of the culls, in the absence of the IEP, it will be impossible to trust any findings supporting a wider roll out."

– Dominic Dyer CEO Badger Trust

Badger cull challenge rejected

The High Court says the latest badger cull can go ahead without monitoring by independent experts

The High Court has rejected an 11th-hour challenge to a Government decision to let the latest badger cull go ahead without monitoring by a panel of independent experts.

The Badger Trust wanted a ruling to block "controlled shooting" of free-roaming badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset unless a panel is put in place.

But Mr Justice Kenneth Parker, sitting in London, today dismissed the application for judicial review.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is testing whether the shooting method can be rolled out to other parts of the country to tackle tuberculosis in cattle.

Last year an independent expert panel (IEP) said in a report on the first year of the four-year pilot schemes that controlled shooting could not deliver the level of culling needed to bring about a reduction in bovine TB and was not humane.

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Badger cull protestors gather at High Court

Badger cull protestors outside the High Court today Credit: ITV News West Country

Campaigners have gathered outside the High Court in London today for another hearing about the Government's badger cull.

The Badger Trust is seeking a ruling that there has been a failure to install an independent panel of experts to monitor this year's pilot culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset. The culls are taking place to try to stop the spread of TB in cattle.

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