Defra extends badger cull consultation
The constulation has been extended by three weeks.
A public consultation on retaining badger culling as part of the government’s bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy for England has been extended by three weeks.
Originally due to end on 22 April 2024, the consultation will now close on 13 May 2024. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says that it has extended the deadline in order to give people more time to reply.
The proposals would see badger culling kept as an option in areas where there are high levels of cattle infections and evidence suggesting that badgers are playing a role in spreading the disease. The culls would be reviewed annually by the UK’s chief veterinary officer.
The proposals also include plans to extend badger vaccination programmes, including in areas where badger culling has ended. The government aims to eradicate bTB in England by 2038.
Lawyers representing the animal welfare organisations Badger Trust and Wild Justice recently wrote to Defra arguing that the consultation is unlawful due to omissions in the consultation materials provided. Defra has responded directly to the letter.
Badger Trust has claimed the extension to the consultation is a result of their actions.
Peter Hambly, executive director of Badger Trust, said: “Extending the response time for a flawed consultation is a start, and it wouldn’t have happened without the challenge by Badger Trust and Wild Justice.”
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