On Thursday, the legal team representing the Badger Trust returned to the Royal Courts of Justice to put their case to the Court of Appeal, after the Trust's first challenge against Defra's badger culling policy was rejected in August.

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On 11thSeptember, less than a fortnight after the initial challenge was dismissed, the Trust was granted permission to pursue the case in the Court of Appeal. The wildlife charity maintains that Defra ministers reneged on commitments to ensure pilot badger culls are independently monitored, after the Independent Expert Panel that assessed the first year of culling judged that it had been inhumane and ineffective.

In a statement on Thursday, the Trust said it "Considers independent monitoring of the pilots to be essential given the significance of a roll out decision, which could lead to badger culling in 40 new areas over the next four years," adding that "Without such a Panel, there can be no proper independent assessment of the safety, effectiveness and humaneness of the culling operation, something that would be needed before any lawful decision could be taken to continue with further culls around the country."

Defra maintains that monitoring by Natural England and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (which has replaced AHVLA this month) will constitute independent oversight, but on granting permission to appeal, the Vice President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal said the Trust had a real prospect of success in its challenge.

David Wolfe QC from Matrix Chambers and Jamie Potter of Bindmans LLP represented the Trust in court. Though the case against Defra and Natural England began on Thursday, judgment was not given at the hearing; Lord Justice Davis, one of three judges presiding over the case, said it would be handed down without unnecessary delay.

Afterwards, Jeff Hayden, Finance Director and the Trust's spokesperson on the Judicial Challenge, said, "Win or lose, the case was debated very thoroughly and the outcome is too close to call.  The Trust will continue to fight to prevent the unnecessary slaughter of thousands of badgers, the majority of which are not infectious and whose deaths will have no significant impact on the spread of bovine TB." 

A Defra spokesperson said the department would not be commenting on ongoing proceedings, however, Defra maintains that culling badgers is an essential tool, which "overseas experience" has shown can play a part in bovine TB control, alongside cattle movement measures and vaccinations.

Commenting ahead of the court date, Professor Tim Coulson, a member of the IEP in 2013, 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 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."