Website Content

Jump to footer

Badger Trust Appeal

THE BADGER TRUST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
02/07/2010

Judgment in the appeal brought by the Badger Trust against the High Court’s refusal to granta judicial review on badger culling is expected to be handed down in Cardiff in the weekbeginning July 12.

In the meantime, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) has been instructed to respond byMonday (July 5) to a third ground of appeal brought by the Trust. This was that the Ordermade by Elin Jones and endorsed by the WAG applies to the whole of Wales and not justthe Intensive Action Pilot Area in ill-defined parts of Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion. Therefore, the Minister could not have been satisfied that the statutory test under section 21Animal Health Act 1981 was met, because she had not consulted for the whole of Wales andnor did she have evidence of a potential “substantial reduction” for the whole of Wales. TheBadger Trust will reply by Wednesday (July7).

The appeal, heard in Cardiff on Wednesday (June 30th) was against the High Court’s rejectionin April of the Trust’s application for judicial review of the WAG decision to cull badgers aspart of its programme to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB). The appeal is also based on twoother points of wider legal importance: what is the correct statutory construction of the term“eliminate or substantially reduce” disease as required under legislation to justify the killing of large numbers of wild species; and whether the scale of killing should be balanced against theexpected benefit.

David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust, said: “We were grateful to the Court foragreeing to an expedited hearing and now await with interest the submissions from the WAGon this vitally important question which, as the judges indicated, has implications not just forWales but for the whole of the UK. In addition we see this case as a test of the power ofwildlife law to protect species often at the mercy of ill-considered policies, devastatingplanning decisions and cruelty”.

The hearing was before Lord Justice Pill, Lady Justice Smith and Lord Justice StanleyBurnton at the Civil Justice Centre, Cardiff on 30 June.

 

Past News

brianmay.com
Bookmark and Share