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High court blocks Northern Ireland badger cull
As many as 4,000 badgers could have been culled under the proposals.

The cull was to be a key part of Northern Ireland’s strategy to tackle bTB.

A high court judge in Northern Ireland has blocked a planned badger cull, following a legal challenge by animal welfare campaigners.

The cull had originally been announced by then agriculture minister Edwin Poots in March 2022 as a key part of a bovine tuberculosis (bTB) eradication strategy for Northern Ireland.

However, following a legal challenge brought by Wild Justice and the Northern Ireland Badger Group, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) will now have to suspend the planned cull.

Delivering his ruling on Wednesday, 25 October, Mr Justice Scofield found that before announcing the policy, DAERA had not conducted a fair and lawful public consultation and failed to advise the minister about animal welfare concerns.

The department carried out a consultation in 2021, which received more than 3,000 responses, but the judge ruled that insufficient information was provided to those responding to the consultation about the basis for the proposed decision.

As the topic was 'highly emotive' and involved a 'highly contested scientific backdrop', the department should have disclosed much more of its rationale,
according to the judgement.

In March this year, herd incidence of bTB in Northern Ireland reached a record high. It has not yet been announced whether DAERA will conduct a new consultation.

Mike Rendle of the Northern Ireland Badger Group said: “Today’s judgement has vindicated our very grave concerns about the way the bovine TB strategy consultation was conducted and the decision to implement a farmer-led cull which would inflict immense suffering on great numbers of healthy badgers.”

 

Image (C) Shutterstock

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
New guidance for antibiotic use in rabbits

New best practice guidance on the responsible use of antibiotics in rabbits has been published by the BSAVA in collaboration with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWA&F).

The guidance is free and has been produced to help veterinary practitioners select the most appropriate antibiotic for rabbits. It covers active substance, dose and route of administration all of which are crucial factors when treating rabbits owing to the risk of enterotoxaemia.

For more information and to access the guide, visit the BSAVALibrary.