20th March 2012: Badger Trust welcomes Welsh badger vaccination decision

- Vaccination offers quicker, cheaper and more permanent benefits for farmers

- No risk of serious disturbance or disappearance of local badger populations

- Cattle-based measures sufficient

- Culling could have made ‘no meaningful’ contribution to combating bTB

THE BADGER TRUST welcomes the Welsh Government’s science-based decision to vaccinate badgers against bovine tuberculosis (bTB). This is the only sensible, practical way forward; culling would have made matters worse at great cost to the Welsh taxpayer.

A culling proposal by the last Welsh Assembly Government was quashed in 2010 following judicial review proceedings brought by Badger Trust. WAG then produced in 2011 a new, even more risky culling proposal including free-shooting, which Badger Trust challenged alongside 4 co-claimants in the affected area. The Welsh Government’s revised plan was paused after last year’s election when the new Government agreed to conduct a comprehensive review of the science.

Badger Trust is pleased that this Government is saving Welsh taxpayers, rural communities, and badgers from a cull. Following a thorough review of the science, the Minister has today concluded that a cull of badgers is not necessary and would not bring about any substantial reduction in the incidence of bovine TB. Vaccination represents a safe and satisfactory alternative.

The Welsh Government has made the right decision. Badger Trust now calls on Caroline Spelman to reconsider her costly, counterproductive cull plans for England. The Trust has commenced judicial review proceedings to prevent the proposed counterproductive and unscientific slaughter in England of tens of thousands of disease-free badgers – killing that could make matters worse and prompt the spread of disease at great cost to farmers, badgers and rural communities.

The Trust is already working alongside the National Farmers’ Union towards taking this modern vaccination technology into the field following successful DEFRA and FERA vaccination trial results published in 2010. Test results show a 74% reduction in the proportion of wild badgers giving positive results to TB tests. Other vaccination programmes have also yielded positive results.

Badger Trust would welcome the opportunity to work with the Welsh Government on their vaccination programme and could share the knowledge gained from our own badger vaccination work with farmers.

David Williams, chairman of the Badger Trust, said:

"Cattle control measures are sufficient in themselves to eradicate this disease and were highly successful up to 1990 without killing badgers. But, in the meantime, vaccination offers quicker and more permanent benefits to cattle farmers than shooting badgers for a benefit of only 12 to 16 per cent at best over nine years at great cost to the tax payer.

Periodic vaccination prevents reinfection, mostly from cattle, and avoids badger populations being disturbed, a feature of badger ecology which would risk spreading bTB further. Given that culling badgers can provide no meaningful contribution to the eradication of bTB we welcome the Welsh Government’s sensible, science-led approach".

28th February 2012: Badger Trust Launches Legal Bid to Prevent Costly, Counter-productive Cull

Today, the Badger Trust will lodge a claim in the High Court to seek a Judicial Review of DEFRA’s decision of 14th December 2011 to kill badgers in England. The Trust continues to do all it can to prevent the proposed ‘DIY’ farmer-led cull, which will not benefit badgers, cattle, farmers, rural communities or the tax-payer.

This action to have the decision quashed follows extensive legal and scientific advice as well as correspondence and meetings with DEFRA to clarify its position on the many issues of concern to the Trust. The Badger Trust and a majority of the public consider that the cull poses serious risks to cattle and badgers. The methodology for evaluating any results from the cull is also defective. Before now it was unclear what DEFRA had actually decided, and what remained to be decided following the ‘pilot’ culls planned for late 2012 in Gloucestershire and Somerset. In light of DEFRA’s various responses, the Trust has now concluded that the decision is unlawful and should be quashed.

The Trust will ask the court to overturn DEFRA’s decision on the basis of three grounds:

1. The Secretary of State has authorised Natural England to issue licences to reduce the rate of new incidences of bovine TB (although she expects a mere 12-16% reduction in bTB after 9 years at a huge net cost to the farmer). However, ‘reducing incidence’ is not the purpose for which the legal power was granted. The culls proposed will not meet the strict legal test of "preventing the spread of disease" in the areas being licensed, and may in fact amount to a recipe for spreading the disease. DEFRA’s own evidence confirms that the proposed cull would in fact prompt the spread of disease in and around the cull zones. Badger Trust considers that this is entirely antithetical to the aims in the strict test set down in section 10(2)(a) of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992.

2. The cost impact assessment underpinning DEFRA’s decision is flawed, as its cost assumptions are based on the farmer free-shooting option (this is estimated to be approximately ten times cheaper than cage-trapping badgers before killing them). However, after the first year of piloting the cull plans, the free-shooting method may be ruled out for being inhumane, ineffective or unsafe to the public. In that case, farmers will find themselves legally obliged to continue the cull on the much more costly "trap and shoot" basis until the end of the 4-year licence. This is a significant cost risk for farmers, yet it is not properly reflected in the cost impact assessment which underpinned DEFRA’s decision. The Secretary of State did not ask herself the right questions so as to obtain crucial information on costs. Badger Trust considers that this renders the decision entirely unlawful. Given the poor cost-benefit prognosis for the cull, the Trust also hopes that Parliament and the farming community will now carefully reconsider DEFRA’s ‘Big Society’ DIY cull plans.

3. Guidance which DEFRA issued to Natural England is invalid. Under section 15(2) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 the Secretary of State may issue guidance to Natural England as to how Natural England should exercise its functions. However, killing badgers is not one of Natural England’s original functions, which are mainly focussed on maintaining biodiversity. Even though DEFRA is making Natural England responsible for the licensing arrangements, under section 10(2)(a) of the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, culling badgers ‘for the prevention of spread of disease’ remains the Secretary of State’s own function. Thus, she had no legal power to issue section 15 guidance to Natural England in these circumstances.
The Badger Trust’s decision to bring this challenge arises from the following convictions and obligations which flow from them:

- Culling badgers as proposed (whether by free-shooting or trapping and shooting) can make no meaningful contribution to the eradication of bTB and risks making matters worse. Stricter cattle measures - as 10 years of taxpayer-funded independent research have concluded - will beat the disease.

- The badger appears to be a scapegoat for an industry that underrates the risk of cattle-to-cattle transmission, and one which has reportedly experienced a significant number of incidents of poor animal husbandry, fraud and flouting of cattle management regulations.

The Trust’s solicitor, Gwendolen Morgan of Bindmans LLP, said: "We have identified some serious flaws in the way by which the Secretary of State reached her decision to cull badgers. Given that DEFRA’s proposals come at an enormous cost to farmers, and threaten to prompt rather than prevent the spread of disease, we hope that this ill-conceived decision will be struck down by the court."

Pat Hayden, vice chairman of Badger Trust said: "Despite opposition from the majority of the public who responded to the Government’s consultations and stark warnings from many eminent independent scientists, it is astonishing that DEFRA has given the green light to a badger cull. Badger Trust will exhaust all peaceful, legal avenues of challenge to prevent this wrong-headed cull from going ahead."

27th January 2012: Join new RSPCA campaign "Set Back For Badgers"

A letter from the RSPCA:

Dear Supporter,

Thank you to everyone who contacted their MPs asking them to urge the government in Westminster to rethink plans for a badger cull. Sadly, as I’m sure many of you will have heard, a badger cull has been announced in England and will go ahead in two pilot areas initially. It’s dreadful news that could cause suffering to many badgers.

These beautiful animals are now in serious danger, widespread culling could see populations decline by more than 70 per cent in some areas.

We will continue to campaign for badgers on a local level, but we'll need your help. The first pilot cull will take place in the district of west Somerset and partly in Taunton Deane. The second is mainly within the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury, and partly in the districts of Wychavon, Malvern Hills and west Gloucestershire. If you live in the surrounding areas and would like to help, please contact campaigns@rspca.org.uk

You can also show your support for our black and white furry friends by sharing your badger pictures with us in our new Flickr group: Set Back for Badgers.

Many thanks for your support,

RSPCA Campaign Team

14th December 2011: Badger Trust ‘very disappointed’ over cull decision

The Badger Trust has been advised by Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for the Environment, that she has decided to proceed with the two pilot culls to determine the efficacy and humaneness of the free-shooting of badgers. Her statement was expected on 15th December but was made after Prime Minister's Question Time today, Wednesday 14th December 2011. We have also been made aware that Guidance Notes will be issued to Natural England tomorrow.

David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust said: "We are clearly very disappointed by this decision but now that it has been made, we will be studying it with our legal advisors to determine what action we shall take."