Court's badger cull ruling blow for Shropshire campaigners
Wildlife campaigners in Shropshire say they are disappointed after the Court of Appeal dismissed a request for independent experts to monitor badger culls to ensure they were being done humanely.
The Badger Trust asked three judges at a recent hearing in London to rule that there was a "legitimate expectation" that an IEP would be put in place.
But, in a decision announced yesterday, Lord Justice Davis, Lord Justice Christopher Clarke and Lord Justice Bean dismissed their case.
Helen Trotman, of Shropshire Wildlife Trust, has been working with Defra on a project to encourage greater uptake of badger vaccination as an alternative to the cull.
She said: "We are disappointed that badger culling still forms part of the Government's strategy for tackling TB but hope vaccination of badgers will play a larger part in the future. Support for vaccination should also be available in high risk areas like Shropshire.
"Cattle to cattle transmission represents the most important route of disease spread so it is vital that the main focus of the Government's strategy to eradicate bTB remains on cattle measures, as this is where the most significant disease-control gains will be made."
Challenge
Shropshire Wildlife Trust is in the third year of a five-year vaccination project on a nature reserves in north Shropshire.
The Court of Appeal challenge arose from a decision to sanction a second year of "controlled shooting" of free-roaming badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset as part of efforts to tackle tuberculosis in cattle
Defra is using the two pilot schemes in the West Country to test whether the shooting method can be rolled out to other parts of England.
However, opponents say that culling is inhumane and ineffective and alternatives such as vaccination should be pursued.
A Defra spokesman said: "We are pleased that the Court of Appeal has found in our favour.
"As we have always been clear, the Independent Expert Panel's role was to oversee the six-week pilots in the first year of the culls only.
"We have a comprehensive strategy to make England TB-free, including strict cattle movement controls and badger vaccination, but overseas experience shows that we will not beat the disease without also culling badgers where the disease is rife."
