Taking the next step with our badger cull challenge

Today we’ve announced we’re taking the next steps in our legal challenge of badger culls, alongside the Badger Trust. See the press release from our lawyers, Leigh Day, below.

Wildlife groups Badger Trust and Wild Justice have begun a legal challenge after the government’s nature conservation agency Natural England issued additional badger culling licences against scientific advice from its own experts.

The 26 supplementary badger cull licences authorise farmers to kill badgers from June to November, despite Natural England’s director of science advising that there was “no justification” for the action.

Natural England stated that one of its reasons for issuing the licences was to maintain the confidence of farmers in the government’s disease reduction programmes, as set out by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Wildlife charity Badger Trust and not-for-profit company Wild Justice, represented by law firm Leigh Day, will argue that Natural England issued licences unlawfully for the purpose of maintaining the confidence of the farming community, rather than for the proper purpose of preventing the spread of disease.

Licences for badger culling are issued to assist in preventing the spread of tuberculosis (TB) amongst cattle, a practice regarded as controversial but while operated within strictly limited periods of time was previously supported by scientific advice from Natural England.

In February 2024, the organisation received 26 applications for supplementary badger culling licences. However, its director of science concluded in April that, following four years of previous intensive badger culls, alternatives such as a vaccine meant that there was no requirement for further culling.

Despite this advice commissioned from its own scientists, in May Natural England opted to issue the supplementary licences spanning from 1 June to 30 November.

This was following advice from officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) about the consequences on their relationship with the farming industry if the licences were not granted.

Officials from Defra advised Natural England that abrupt policy changes would “seriously undermine” Defra’s ability to work constructively with the farming industry on future disease control.

A briefing paper on the licensing decision prepared for Natural England’s executive committee also identified the maintenance of the organisation’s relationship with the National Farmers’ Union and the farming community as an advantage of issuing the licences.

The licences were granted on 10 May 2024. Wild Justice and Badger Trust have now applied for judicial review of Natural England’s decision to issue the licences, arguing that Natural England:

• Unlawfully exercised the statutory power to issue licences to kill badgers for the improper purpose of maintaining farmers’ confidence in the Secretary of State’s policy, rather than for the narrower (and proper) purpose of “preventing the spread of disease”.
• Had regard to considerations that were legally irrelevant to its decision on whether to issue the licences. These included the consequences of the decision for its relationships with Defra and the “farming community”, and for its own budget and the wellbeing of its staff.
• Failed to provide adequate and rational reasons as to why the licences should be issued after its director of science had advised that there was no scientific justification for issuing the licences. 

The campaign groups are represented by Leigh Day environment team solicitors Carol Day and Ricardo Gama, as well as barristers David Wolfe KC and Barney McCay.

Wild Justice said:

“’The previous Conservative government leant on Natural England to approve these licences. Why would the new Labour government, which offered ‘change’ in its election manifesto, be prepared to defend that action in the courts? Not only is it not ‘change’, it’s spending taxpayers’ money on the previous government’s flawed decisions.”

Rosie Wood from Badger Trust said:

“Saying you don’t want to upset trade industry lobbyists is no reason to slaughter badgers.  Natural England’s scientist said stop the badger cull, and it’s time for the new Defra Secretary of State, Steve Reed, to step up and stop this mess right now. TB is overwhelmingly a cattle-to-cattle spread disease.  Follow the evidence – end the badger cull, stop this egregious attack on nature and stop misleading the public, farmers and the taxpayer.” 

Leigh Day’s Ricardo Gama said:

“Our clients were surprised by Natural England’s decision to go ahead with issuing supplementary badger culling licences in spite of the clear advice from its own scientists that the decision would not be justifiable and would breach legislation intended to protect badgers. Our clients hope to persuade the court that the decision to overlook this advice in favour of maintaining relationships with the farming community was unlawful.”