West Country (W) Environment News

This weekend hundreds of volunteers are expected to scour the region's coastline looking for litter and other debris washed up on the shore. It's part of a campaign by the pressure group Surfers Against Sewage.

It warns that, although our beaches look clean at first glance, they can be strewn with plastic and other debris that threaten marine habitats.

• UK
• Beaches
• Environment

Environmental groups from the West Country have criticised the government over plans to limit the number of areas where marine life is protected. Today a framed copy of a petition with quarter of a million signatures was handed in to Parliament by wildlife groups from across the country.

It asks Ministers to create more marine conservation areas around our coasts. Only a quarter of those proposed will be recognised this year. Environment Minister Richard Benyon says more zones may be added later, and that the government is starting with those areas that have the strongest case.

• UK
• Dart Estuary
• Environment

Hundreds of volunteer litter-pickers will be helping to clean up the region's beaches this weekend. It's an event organised by the Marine Conservation Society. More than 100 countries and regions worldwide are taking part.

The data collected will help keep up pressure on governments to act to reduce the amount of rubbish on beaches.

• UK
• environment
• litter

A scheme to tap into the energy beneath our feet is being looked at by a new working party in Parliament. The 'hot rocks' project has been set up to promote ways of extracting natural heat from Cornwall's granite.

But a company, which has won planning permission for two test bore holes next to the Eden project, is struggling to raise the money. Our political correspondent Bob Constantine reports.

• UK
• cornwall
• environment

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.

• UK
• 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