Welsh badger cull faces new legal challenge
8 June 2010 - BBC News
The proposed badger cull in north Pembrokeshire is facing a new legal
challenge. The Badger
Trust has been told it can appeal against the outcome of a
judicial review that backed the
Welsh Assembly Government's plans. The cull aims to cut the rate of
TB in cattle, but opponents say it
is not justified by science.
The Badger Trust argued that Rural Affairs Minister
Elin Jones (elin.jones@wales.gov.uk)
had not shown that a cull would "eliminate or substantially reduce" the rate of
TB infection, as the law meant it had to, and that ministers had a duty to weigh
the harm to the badger population against the possible benefits to farmers, but
had not done so.
Mr Justice Elias agreed that these two points were "arguable", and granted
the Badger Trust leave to appeal.
"Overall, it casts a shadow over the impending cull start in Wales," said
Gwendolen Morgan, the
Badger Trust's legal adviser. "This should give the minister pause for thought before proceeding, as to
start a cull and then stop summarily would be likely to cause a serious spike in
TB," she said. The largest study of culling anywhere in the world - the UK-based Krebs Trial
- showed that unless it is done comprehensively, culling makes the problem
worse, because it disturbs badgers' social groups, inducing them to roam further
afield and infect more cows.
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