Please help us defend Badgers in Northern Ireland

This morning Wild Justice launched a new fundraising appeal. Once again we are looking to challenge a proposed cull of Badgers – this time in Northern Ireland.

So far, over 500 of you have backed our fundraiser, donating over £12,000 towards our challenge. Thank you to everyone who’s donated!

So, what’s this about?

Back in 2021, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) proposed a cull of Badgers that could commence as early as July 2022.  

Working closely with our friends, the Northern Ireland Badger Group (NIBG), we looked into the legality of DAERA’s proposal, and we spotted an issue. In their proposal, DAERA made repeated references to there being a ‘business case’ for culling badgers. Despite multiple requests being made, neither Wild Justice nor NIBG have been granted access to this ‘business case’, nor the evidence used to make it. For this reason, we believe that DAERA’s proposition to carry out a cull of Badgers has not been subject to lawful consultation with the public.

Wild Justice are now seeking a Judicial Review of the lawfulness of DAERA’s proposed Badger cull and have sent DAERA a formal legal letter as the first step in this process. Now comes the part when we ask for your help!

The first stage of the challenge will cost £50,000; these funds will go towards paying our lawyers, court costs, the costs of research and costs awarded against us if our challenge is unsuccessful. Wild Justice is meeting the costs of the NIBG in this case. Some of this money has already been spent from our savings but we can’t take the challenge all the way without raising more funds.

Please support our fundraising appeal here. We’re really grateful for any support you can give us.

This is just the latest attempt to cull Badgers in the UK; it’s a topic Wild Justice have campaigned on a lot in the past, particularly relating to culls in England. This time we’re taking the fight to Northern Ireland, and we’d really appreciate your support.