Our Crowdfunder for a legal challenge of a proposed Badger cull in Northern Ireland has just passed £25,000 in donations. Thank you to everyone for your support and contributions!
So, where are we at with news of this proposed cull? Wild Justice have been in detailed correspondence with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) about our challenge. Throughout this correspondence, DAERA have repeatedly told us they believe our challenge, should it be launched at the moment, would be premature. We’ve still had no formal statement from DAERA on whether they intend to go ahead with their proposed cull or not.
In the meantime, the news and comment in the wider political and farming sector suggests very strongly that DAERA are in fact intending to implement a Badger cull. An article in Irish Farmers Journal last week mentioned the proposed cull and that DAERA’s officials are working ‘at pace’ to finalise their new TB Strategy which remains one of DAERA’s ‘top priorities’. That doesn’t sound like the decision to implement a cull is in the balance to us.
Wild Justice have also heard that DAERA will be reporting on this strategy, and their plans for a cull, to the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on Wednesday morning, at 10am. We’ll be watching this with interest, and you can too.
So, whilst DAERA may be telling us that filing the next set of legal papers would be premature, we’re still actively preparing, with our friends in the Northern Ireland Badger Group, to challenge any plans to cull Badgers in Northern Ireland and to take that challenge through the courts.
