Western Daily Press: Government advisors support Badger Trust High Court legal challenge

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The Badger Trust has been granted permission for a Judicial Review challenge in the High Court against the DEFRA Secretary of State Owen Paterson and Natural England

The Badger Trust has been granted permission by a judge for a Judicial Review challenge in the High Court against the DEFRA Secretary of State Owen Paterson and Natural England. The test case focuses on the Government’s highly controversial badger cull policy.

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The Judicial Review will argue that Owen Paterson and Natural England have failed to put in place any Independent Expert Panel for the planned culling of badgers in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2014.

The Trust contends such a Panel is needed to oversee the design of data collection, its analysis and interpretation. Without this, there can be no proper assessment of the safety, effectiveness and humaneness of the culling operation, something that would be needed before any lawful decision to continue with further culls around the country.

Commenting on the Judicial Review challenge, Ranald Munro, Chairman of the IEP said:

“The Independent Expert Panel’s report states clearly the rationale for ensuring that independent monitoring and the use of the statistically robust sample sizes and analytical methods, as used in the 2013 culls, are followed in further culling exercises. If this scientific advice is ignored then the data collected during the proposed 2014 culls will be insufficiently reliable for assessment of humaneness and effectiveness. This means that farmers, veterinarians and scientists intimately involved in controlling bovine TB will be denied the information necessary to allow them to assess whether the IEP’s recommended changes to the culling process have corrected the failings identified by the pilot culls.”

Dominic Dyer CEO of the Badger Trust & Policy Advisor at Care for the Wild, welcomed the judge’s decision to grant permission for the Judicial Review challenge saying:

"Owen Paterson has done all he can to prevent this Judicial Review case going to the High Court and he has failed. His refusal to put in place any independent monitoring of the badger culls due to take place in Gloucestershire and Somerset over the next few months against the advice of the Independent Expert Panel he set up is a national disgrace.

“The caring compassionate British public will not remain silent, whilst poorly trained NFU contract gunmen move through our countryside at night shooting badgers with rifles and shotguns without any independent monitoring or scrutiny. We know from last year’s culls that many badgers were wounded and suffered long painful deaths in a disastrous operation, which proved a complete and utter failure on scientific, economic and humaneness grounds.

“I am very pleased to see that we have strong support from some members of the Independent Expert Panel and I look forward to joining Professor Tim Coulson in Parliament on Monday 7 July, when we will brief MP's from all parties on why we believe they should also give their support to the Badger Trust legal challenge.

“I also call again on the British Veterinary Association to show animal welfare and humaneness is their number one priority by supporting the Badger Trust in the High Court.”



Read more: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/...tory-21312225-detail/story.html#ixzz36E9xe3LE
 

RushesToo

Member
Location
Fingringhoe
For Heavens sake!
If this farmer had been able to control these he wouldn't be in TB lockdown hell.
http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/03/07/2014/145388/badger-haven-farm-struck-down-with-tb.htm

About 200 acres of the 380-acre Oath Farm, Burrowbridge, was badly flooded earlier this year, but the higher land remained dry and was inundated by wildlife seeking to escape the waters.

“We were a complete island, with only the raised Taunton-Paddington railway line crossing the farm,” said John Perrin, who keeps 100 Charolais suckler cows with his father Dave.

“There are lots of badger setts in the embankment, and our farm was the first bit of dry land they could get to. We had a dozen or more badgers in the yard, walking around in broad daylight,”


I really really need to swear but have restrained myself.
Dominic *#!!#$%* idiot Dyer - responsible for the continued murder of innocent cows.
 
Last edited:

s line

Member
I helped out with a T b test last friday. We had one reactor cow and one reactor in calf heifer at 15months old,plus 6 in conclusive milking cows. Have been clear for the last 10 years..........
 

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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