Government advisors support Badger Trust High Court legal challenge

July 1, 2014

The Badger Trust has been granted permission by a judge for a Judicial Review challenge in the High Court against the DEFRA Secretary of State Owen Paterson and Natural England. The test case focuses on the Government’s highly controversial badger cull policy.

The Judicial Review will argue that Owen Paterson and Natural England have failed to put in place any Independent Expert Panel for the planned culling of badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2014. The Trust contends such a Panel is needed to oversee the design of data collection, its analysis and interpretation. Without this, there can be no proper assessment of the safety, effectiveness and humaneness of the culling operation, something that would be needed before any lawful decision to continue with further culls around the country.

The Badger Trust legal challenge has received strong support from some members of the Independent Expert Panel (IEP) set up by the Government to monitor the safety, effectiveness and humaneness of the badger culls carried out in 2013.

Commenting on the Judicial Review challenge, Ranald Munro, Chairman of the IEP said

“The Independent Expert Panel’s report states clearly the rationale for ensuring that independent monitoring and the use of the statistically robust sample sizes and analytical methods, as used in the 2013 culls, are followed in further culling exercises. If this scientific advice is ignored then the data collected during the proposed 2014 culls will be insufficiently reliable for assessment of humaneness and effectiveness. This means that farmers, veterinarians and scientists intimately involved in controlling bovine TB will be denied the information necessary to allow them to assess whether the IEP’s recommended changes to the culling process have corrected the failings identified by the pilot culls.”

Dominic Dyer CEO of the Badger Trust and Policy Advisor at Care for the Wild welcomed the judge’s decision to grant permission for the Judicial Review challenge saying

“Owen Paterson has done all he can to prevent this Judicial Review case going to the High Court and he has failed. His refusal to put in place any independent monitoring of the badger culls due to take place in Gloucestershire and Somerset over the next few months against the advice of the Independent Expert Panel he set up is a national disgrace.

“The caring compassionate British public will not remain silent, whilst poorly trained NFU contract gunmen move through our countryside at night shooting badgers with rifles and shotguns without any independent monitoring or scrutiny. We know from last year’s culls that many badgers were wounded and suffered long painful deaths in a disastrous operation, which proved a complete and utter failure on scientific, economic and humaneness grounds.

“I am very pleased to see that we have strong support from some members of the Independent Expert Panel and I look forward to joining Professor Tim Coulson in Parliament on Monday 7 July, when we will brief MP’s from all parties on why we believe they should also give their support to the Badger Trust legal challenge.

“I also call again on the British Veterinary Association to show animal welfare and humaneness is their number one priority by supporting the Badger Trust in the High Court.”

Contacts:

Dominic Dyer CEO Badger Trust Tel: 07876 596233
Jack Reedy Badger Trust Tel: 07751 731107 or 01564 783129

Learn About Badgers!
A badger sett is a system of tunnels and nesting chambers lined with bedding such as grass, moss and leaves.
Cubs are normally born in February, and the average number in a litter is three, although the range can be from one to five.
Badgers are considered omnivorous, although their diet varies so much in different countries they are also sometimes termed ‘local specialists’.
Badgers live mainly in woods and copses in extensive underground burrow systems called setts.
Badgers are shy, nocturnal animals that live in underground chambers connected by a network of tunnels known as a sett.
Did You Know?
It has been estimated that up to 50,000 badgers may be killed on our roads each year. If safe to do so, it is worth checking what appears to be a dead badger.
Snares can do serious damage to skin tissue which is not immediately obvious.
Badger cubs begin to explore above ground in May, sometimes without mum’s permission!
Try not to cause the animal alarm, but observe from a distance.
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