The Cull is Stopped - For Now!

"Landmark decission for wildlife"

The Badger Trust has WON its appeal against the Welsh Assembly’s proposed cull of badgers in Pembrokeshire.

The cull will now NOT take place!

The Badger trust were allowed to appeal against the original decision which went in favour of the Welsh Assembly.  The Appeal Judges considered the appeal on three points.

Welcoming what could prove to be a landmark decision for wildlife, David Williams, chairman of the Badger Trust, said the judicial review proceedings in April and the subsequent appeal had been enormous undertakings for an organisation with only three staff, all part time. "We have invested our money -- our groups' and supporters' subscriptions and donations – to support our conviction that the law had to be tested and that the science was right. Although a protective order saved £10,000 the total bill will be well into six figures. That's a huge sum for us but it has paid off handsomely, thanks in no small measure to our legal team.
 
Mr Williams added: “We are delighted with this outcome. We are grateful to all the badger groups and supporters whose donations and encouragement made this crucial legal action possible.
 
“Of all the wildlife organisations the Badger Trust exists to secure the welfare of our native protected species, the badger, and we will continue to do so through lawful means. We are pleased to see that the protection offered by wildlife law cannot be vitiated by political smoke and mirrors and that the court saw the issues so clearly. We also note the court’s criticism of the Welsh Ministers’ failure to reveal their advice without heavy redactions.

“Scientific evidence about the futility of killing badgers to control bTB remains exactly the same. Although some farmers may see this judgement as a setback, the massive body of rigorously peer-reviewed literature shows that killing badgers can play no meaningful part in the eradication of bTB and that robust cattle measures are sufficient, as demonstrated by evidence that the rate of increase in new TB outbreaks in Wales is already starting to slow. We also hope that the Minister will now adopt a strategy of vaccination as a cost-effective, viable alternative.”  (from Pembrokeshire Against the Cull website)

This does not mean that the threat to badgers has gone away completely, but it is, as David Williams says, a “landmark decision for wildlife”.