Announcement on Badger Cull challenge soon
An announcement on whether a High Court challenge to plans to cull badgers in England can go ahead is expected by the end of the week. The challenge was brought by the Badger Trust as response to the decision by ministers at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to sanction pilot culls in West Somerset and West Gloucestershire in an attempt to tackle the spread of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB).
Speaking to the National Farmer's Union (NFU) Council, NFU Head of Food and Farming Phil Hudson informed those present that an announcement by a judge on whether the case would be authorised to proceed would occur “by this Friday”. Mr Hudson also told the Council that a High Court hearing, if one were to go ahead, could happen as early as this June in light of the "level of public interest in this issue".
The Badger Trust's challenge argues that a cull would be outside the authority of Natural England, that DEFRA's cost impact assessment is inaccurate because it does not take a possible requirement for cage trapping into account, and that the culls do not satisfy the legal test of 'preventing the spread of disease' and may even contribute towards the spread of disease.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
